Falling Into Place
by eu5jr7
Summary: CxA After the beginning of FF7, Cloud and Aeris decide to go on their own adventure. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...I WISH I did..but I dont...

Note: Ok, this starts out like exactly like the game...but a few things change and end up altering what happens. Since I'm a lazy ass, I won't continue without reviews.

The rusty train screeched to a hault at the station in front of the North Reactor. The five unknown members on the train waited anxiously for the doors to open. They each headed out hastily as a small gust of wind flooded the compartment when the door rushed open. Naturally, there were guards waiting at the train exit. No one was allowed in the reactors without authorization. In which case, this group did not have. The first member off the train was a younger male, no older than 23, he jumped off the train and surprised the first guard, throwing him to the group and thieving his weapon. There was one other guard who turned to the situation just in time to get kicked in the face by a young women who had hurled her leg towards his face with impressive force. Three other men followed them off the train before it sped off.

The leader of the group, who's name was Barret was tall, had dark skin and was quite the intimidating man. An accident not too long ago had taken his right arm and it was now replaced with a fully functional machine gun. He was the leader of Avalanche, a rebel group who opposed Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra was a powerful company who took from the planet's energy, Mako energy and used it around the world for power. In doing so, they were killing the planet. They had all ready taken over the city of Midgar, which their headquarters were located. Anyone who worked at Shin-Ra lived up top the city. Anyone who didn't, or opposed them, lived in the slums and would never see the light of day, as that part of the city was covered with eight large, metal plates that covered everything.

"C'mon newcomer, follow me." Barret motioned to a smaller man. He couldn't be no older than 20, 21. He was quiet. Not shy, just quiet. He wore a dark, navy blue, sleevless zip-up sweater that clung to his well formed body. On his left arm he had a dark grey piece of shoulder armor. His pants were black and hung loosely off his lower body. He wore black combat boots and gloves as well. He hair was a light shade of blonde and pieces of it hung in his face, while others stuck upwards in various directions. His eyes were strange...not in a bad way. They were bright blue, but they had a green shine. They were entrancing, but they weren't always like that. He held a look that could almost be defined as anger...although he wasn't angry. It didn't take a genius to see that he was also very good looking. From his eyes, to his nose, down to his lips, and with a few faint freckles on his cheeks, he was indeed extemely gorgeous...which was almost a shame because he wasn't very social. Her preferred to keep to himself.

The blonde ran off to catch up with Barret who had led them all into an alleyway and out the other end again. Apparently it was his shortcut towards the reactor, but it had led them straight into two more guards. This was getting ridiculous. The young blonde pulled out a large silver sword from the sheath on his back and somehow managed to swing it with utmost persision. It was clearly almost the same height as him and had to be atleast a foot and a half in width. With the two guards gone in less then 10 seconds, the small group continued onward. Biggs, one of the other members turned to the new guy as they ran, "You used to be in SOLDIER didn't you I can tell. It's not every day you find one in a group like Avalanche."

This caused the young woman, Jessie to turn from in front of them, "Whoa whoa whoa, SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" She questioned, glaring at the man behind her. Yes, it was true, SOLDIER was an elite army force that worked for Shin-Ra. Doing their dirty work, running "errands" of different kinds...disposing of people who opposed.

"What is he doing with us in Avalanche?" Jessie demanded. The group had stopped running now, except for Barret who was in front. Biggs put his hand up in denfence, "He WAS in SOLDIER Jessie. He's not anymore. Now he's with us. I didn't catch your name either." Biggs turned to the new guy.

"...Cloud." He replied, almost under his breath. Although he only spoke when he needed to, which made him sound all the more mysterious and attractive none-the less when he talked.

Biggs raised an eyebrow at him, "Cloud eh? Well I'm-I don't care what your names are." Cloud interupted, shaking his head, "Once this job's over, I'm outta here." He really had no cause to be there, he didn't care what Shin-Ra was doing, he just needed money.

Barret had finally noticed that the others hadn't followed and stopped dead in his tracks. "The hell ya's doin! Would you hurry we gotta get to the reactor!" He hollered, arms in the air.

"I guess we've been chit chatting for long enough." Wedge said and ran off to catch up with Barret. Cloud sighed and followed Biggs and Jessie to the foot of the Bridge where Barret was wating.

"Ex-SOLDIER huh?" Barret mused while crossing his arms. "I don't trust ya." He said, eyeing the man in front of him.

As almost as fast as he brought it up, Barret dismissed the topic. "Alirght, let's get going!"

As the others took off, Cloud looked up to get a better view of the large reactor that they were undoubtibly about to completely destory. A small thought wormed its way into his head, was this REALLY such a good idea? Deciding to ignore the thought, Cloud shook his head and disregarded it from his mind. He soon caught up with the others.

Cloud watched as Wedge ran to the left of the metal pathway, "I'll secure our escape passage. You concentrate on the mission Cloud." He reminded him. "Geez are we really gonna blow this huge furnace up? This will really be somthing to see!" Wedge continued, pressing an abundance of buttons. He seemed to know what he was doing. Barret had led everyone up a staircase and to a large metal door. He turned to Cloud, "This your first time in a reactor?"

"No...after all, I did work for Shin-Ra."

"The planet is full of Mako energy, people here use it everyday."

Cloud just shrugged...he really didn't care all that much.

Barret grumbled, didn't he care about their planet? "It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines."

Cloud sighed and eyed Barret, he was getting resless, he wanted this done, and done now. "I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just do it."

As much as Barret wasn't enjoying the lack of emotion that this guy was emitting, he wanted this done as much and quick as he did. "Alright, you come with me from now on." He ordered.

"Hey!" Jessie interupted, "Biggs and I got the code for the door, here." She moved to the side of Barret and typed in the code on the panel of the door. A loud click assured them that the code had worked and the huge door had come open.

They headed into a small metal room when they were confronted with two more doors.

"You know, a lot of our people risked their lives for these codes." Biggs informed Cloud as they headed through the last door. They were now in a large room with tons of computers and panels. To the left of the room there was a lift. "Hey Cloud, push that button over there." Jessie pointed to a blue button on the wall beside the lift. Cloud walked over to it and hit the button. He was startled when the lift doors opened up. "Everyone on." Barret ordered.

"Little by little the reactors'll drain out all the life. Then that'll be that." he pointed out.

"...that's not my problem."

Barret angrily walked up to Cloud and stuck his face in his, "The planet is dying!"

"The only thing I care about is finishing this job before security, and the Roboguards come." Cloud finished as the lift doors opened. They all stepped out and Barret hopped on the ladder across from the lift. Everyone follwed him upward to the next level of the reactor.

"Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, you guys stay here and cover us. We'll go on ahead. C'mon" Barret signalled for Cloud to follow him. He led them up a long narrow staircase and up another, and through two large doors. "This is the core room." Barret said as they walked down a metal boardwalk that led to the core of the reactor.

"When we blow this place, it ain't gonna be nothin more than a hunk of junk. Cloud, you set the bomb." Barret demanded.

Cloud looked at him, confused. "Shouldn't you do it?"

Barret waved his arms, "Just do it! I gotta stand watch and make sure you don't pull nothin."

Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes, what the hell? might as well do it and get outta here. "Fine, I'll do it." He knelt down on the floor and began to hook up the bomb. Training in SOLDIER really helped with this kinda thing...why the hell did he ever join them anyways...Then it happened. The screeching. A high pitched whine making Cloud's eardrums go crazy. He covered his ears and dropped down to the ground. '...watch out...this isn't just a reactor!' That voice...where did it come from? It wasn't Barret. The screeching! it was almost unbarable! Then, it stopped.

"Cloud hurry up!" He heard Barret call to him.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong Cloud? Hurry it up!"

Cloud blinked a few times to clear his head, "...yeah sorry." He appologized and continued working on the bomb. When he finished connecting it to the core, he set the timer and stood up. "There." He sighed. "Now let's get outta here."

Cloud stood up and motioned for Barret to follow him, when a loud siren echoed throughout the entire reactor. Cloud looked up and sighed, "...give me a break..." Apparently the attachment of the bomb to the core sent off the alarm, and there was gonna be something alot bigger than a few guards to answer it. They could feel it already beneath the walkway. It rumbled, making the walkway shake. Out of a nearby door which had most likely been sealed before the alarm came the guard. A huge machine. It looked like a giant scorpion.

"Awww shit." Barret took a fighting stance and aimed his machine gun arm and the huge guard and started shooting like crazy. Cloud had followed suit, but didn't attack. He just watched as Barret attempted to tackle the huge machine. While he was fighting, Cloud noticed something; every time Barret would try to attack, it detected a threat and countered. When it needed to recharge, it raised it's tail and the central computer part of it was vulnerable, and it couldn't attack.

"Barret!" Cloud called to him, "Keep attacking it until it's tail goes up, but watch out because it always counters, so keep moving! Then, when it's tail goes up, aim for the top! We'll get it easier that way!" Barret wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it seemed like Cloud did know, so he nodded in approval. They both continued to attack the large scorpion, dodging it's attacks in the process, when finally, the tail went up.

"See! There!" Cloud motioned to the top of the scorpion that was previously covered by the tail. Barret took aim and attacked. Cloud couldn't reach, so he took his sword and jabbed it into the scorpions side and used it to swing himself to the top. Once on top, he grabbed his sword from out of the machine and wobbled his way over to where Barret was firing. Cloud signalled for him to stop firing so he wouldn't hit him. He then took his sword and with all the force he had, Cloud stabbed the vulnerable part of the robot. Sparks flew everywhere and the scorpion began to shake. Cloud twisted the sword deeper into the piece of machinery until it began to smoke.

"Cloud! hurry up, the timer only says ten minutes left! We gotta get outta here!"

Cloud yanked his sword out and jumped down off the robot. The two men ran passed it and out the door. They scampered down the two flights of stairs to where they left the others. They were gone by now, once they heard the alarm. All were gone except Jessie, who was lying stuck under a pile of metal poles.

"Cloud skidded himself to a stop and told Barret to keep going. "You alright?" He asked frantically.

"My leg is stuck! One of the guards hit me and it got stuck underneath these poles!" Cloud searched his head anxiously for a solution. He pulled out his sword from his sheath and pried it under the large metal pole. He then pressed down on the handle, causing the pole to lift. Jessie pulled out her leg and Cloud dropped the pole.

"Thanks."

Cloud nodded as the two headed off down the ladder and through the pair of doors where the others were waiting.

"Jessie!" Wedge ran up to her. "There you are, we thought you left!"

"We need the other code! You have it" Biggs reminded her.

"Oh yeah!" She headed to the door and quickly typed in the code. The door opened and they all left.

The group raced hastily down the street. Only two minutes left and they were running as fast as their legs would carry them down the streets of the dirty city.

"We ain't gonna make it to anywhere completely safe, we have to hid behind something now!" Barret called behind him to the others. Barret quickly made a sharp turn into an alleyway a long way aways from the reactor. They all hid underneath some boxes. It wasn't long before the massive explosion sent ringing through their ears and wind passed their faces.. A small shockwave passed over them but the boxes helped to protect them.

The explosion passed and Barret stood up, "Everybody alright?"

The others nodded as they were all present and unharmed. " ok good, now we need to split up. More than likely SOLDIERs will be lookin for the guys who did this. Everyone rendezvous at the Sector 8 station! Split up and get on the train!" Everyone nodded and was on their way.

Barret was getting ready to head off when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Cloud.

"H, Hey."

Barret sighed, "If it's about your money, wait til we get back." And he was off.

Cloud found himself walking down a local street in the sector 7 slums. He was laying low, acting calm. He didn't want anyone from Shin-Ra to suspect him. Speaking of which, a group of guards were maing their way towards him, running down the almost empty street. He watched as one of the soldiers accidentally knocked over a girl.

"e-excuse me? What happened." She asked one of the passing soldiers while she pulled herself up.

The soldier stopped and turned, "You'd better get out of here."

"Really? I don't know what's going on but, alright."

The guards had passed and the young woman continued walking. Cloud walked up behind her. She stopped and turned to face him.

You would think she would be somewhat nervous that a strange man had approached her in the the streets of the slums, but no. She just stood there, an innocent smile plastered on her face.

"...you don't see many flowers around here." He mentioned, eyeing the basket in her hand which held a few bright pink flowers.

"Oh, these? You like them, they're only one gil each." She offered, her voice light and cheery.

A small grin played on Clouds lips. It was quite rare that he ever smiled, he usually had no reason to, but this girl unnoticably sent cheery vibes though him just by loooking at him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out all the gil he had, which was about 17 or so and handed them to her. She looked up at him,

"I...I don't have any change for you."

"That's ok."

"You want 17 flowers?"

"No. Just this one." Cloud reached his hand into the basket and twidled one flower in between his fingers. The girl smiled at him before he turned and left.

Cloud walked down the road, making his way into sector 8 to meet up with the others. He fiddled around with the flower in his hand, making sure not to ruin it. He continued down the street, oblivious to how many people had already found out about the reactor, when he heard a voice,

"Hey! you there!"

He turned. "...fucking guards..." he whispered to himself.

Two soldiers had followed him. It was obvious they were suspicious of him. They knew what he had done. 'alright no problem there's only two I can handle this.' Cloud told himself.

As they began to advance twards him, 5 more soldiers appeared from around the corner. Now he was completely cornered, and according to the shrill whistle in the air, he was going to miss his train.

'wait, that's it, the train. Cloud cocked his head to the side and looked over the bridge to the left of him to see the train speeding by.

He grinned, "I really don't have tme to play around with you guys." He said aloud before diving off the bridge.

Wedge slumped down in his seat in the last corridor of the train. "Cloud...never came."

Biggs had his arms on his knees and his head down. He looked up, "Do you think...maybe he was killed."

Barret growled and stood up. "no way! He wouldn't go and die on us!"

Jessie ignored their unpleasant conversation and slouched in her seat, a sad look on her face.

"Say..." Biggs stood up, "Doy uo think Cloud will want to stay with us? You know, join Avalanche?"

"How the hell would I know? I'm not a mind reader!" Barret snapped and kicked a nearby cargo box. "...Maybe if you all weren't such screw ups..." It was clear to the others he didn't mean what he had said. He was upset and they knew that.

They all sat, in complete silence. Not saying anything. thump

Wedge sat up and sighed, "Barret, will you stop kicking that box."

Barret looked over to him, "Huh? I didn't kick the box..."

"Then what..." Thump

Now they all sat up. Jessie looked around to where the thumping was coming from. She slowly walked over to the end of the corridor, near to where the door leading to the outside of the train was. She carefully pressed her ear up against the cold metal and listened.

thump

thump

The group waited anxiously for nothing in particular. Jessie's ear was still pressed firmly against the wall. Without warning, the door beside Jessie burst open. "Ahhhh!" She shrieked and jumped off the wall, falling back into her seat.

Cloud got a grip on the edge of the train's roof and swung himself into the caboose, landing with a thud on his toes.

"Cloud!" Biggs and Wedge both yelled in unision with delight.

Jessie sighed. "...Cloud, thank god..."

Cloud pain no attention to their glee and brushed himself off. Barret pushed his way through Biggs and Wdge and stepped up to Cloud. He looked up. "Looks like I'm a little late..." Barret grumbled.

"You're damn right you're late! Come waltzin in here, makin a big scene-"

"I wasn't making a big scene." Cloud tried to intrude but Barret just kept going...

"Havin' everyone worried like that. You don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourself!"

"Hmmm...you were worried about me?" Cloud mused and shot Barret a challenging grin.

"Wha? That's comin' outta your share, hot shot!" Barret fumed. "That's it, we're leaving." He turned and headed into the other corridor. Biggs and Wedge followed, along with some pats on the back for Cloud. Jessie walked up to him. "Careful." She said, eyeing the open door, "I'll shut this." She reached over and closed the door, making the caboose utterly quiet. She looked down. "Um...thanks for helping me...in the reactor." And with that, she was gone too.

"Last train out of Sector 8 Station.

Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard.

Expected time of arrival is 12:23AM, Midgar Standard Time" The voice on the train's intercom announced.

By the time Cloud had entered the other car, the others had already gotten comfortable on the lush red seats. He strode over to a seat away from the others and sat down. He stretched himself out and leant back againt the back of him seat. Cloud's eyes wandered around the car. It was late now, past 10 anyways. There were about three other people on the train besides the five of them.

There was one man who looked like he was fast asleep on account of his head was absently moving back and forth with the motion of the train. One guy was lying down, spread across three seats, minding his own business. Then there was one other man who was sitting directly across from Cloud, reading a newspaper.

Cloud removed his arms from behind his head and rested them on his knees and intertwining his fingers together while sitting up. He leant his head forward and squinted his eyes. There was something on the newpaper that man was reading. The guy noticed that Cloud was trying to get a glance of his paper and took his nose out of it.

"You see the headlines in the Shinra Times? The terrorists that bombed the No. 1 Reactor are based somewhere in the slums. ...Blowing up a Reactor... they sure put some thought into this one. They must have a real calculating leader. I wonder what they'll do next?"

Before Cloud could say anything back, Barret interupted. " Stop actin' like a damn kid. Siddown and shu'up!"

Cloud glared at him, "I AM sitting down."

"Well then Shut up." Cloud rolled his eyes and went back to resting in his seat.

"Hey...I just noticed that the trains haven't switched to security mode yet?" Biggs pointed out. "You'd think they would have tightened security after what happened. I'm sure it'll change tomorrow." He suggested. "Well, that sure took its toll on me, I'm gonna sleep the rest of the way there." He finished with a yawn.

"Someday, Avalanche, and all of us are gonna be famous." Wedge mused, flinging his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

Most of the train ride after that was nothing but silence except for the faint sound of the quiet man sitting across from Cloud, turning the pages of his newspaper. After awhile, even that stopped after he had finsihed reading and placed the paper down on the red seat beside his lap. Cloud had been slouched in his seat for about 15 minutes now. His gloved hands were intertwinded behind his head, tangled in his mop of blonde hair. His cerulean eyes were shut tight. One leg was sprawled out limply and the other was stretched out in the middle af the car, taking up half the aisle. The rest of the group was pretty much silent. No other noise was able to be heard other than the quiet humming of the train. It wasn't long before the utter silence was broken by an annoying red alarm sounding and flashing in the train.

"That's the ID check." Jessie leaned over and whispered to Cloud. He kept his eyes shut. He was way to tired to be awaken by some stupid ID thingie or whatever it was.

"It lets the security computer in the train access background information on you and your name you know stuff like that. Don't worry though, we have fake ID's"

Cloud nodded slightly to let her know that he was paying attention.

The alarm was on for about thirty seconds before it died down and the red light stopped flashing, leaving the whole car in complete darkness.

"Hey Cloud, c'mere." Barret poked him awake and led him over to the window. Cloud rubbed his eyes and peered out the window.

"Look... you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there... we could see the sky." Barret pointed out to the top of one of 8 large metal plates that covered Midgar. It was a rarity that someone living in the slums of Midgar would ever see the light of day. Getting out was one thing but being able to make the money to be able to get out was another. Most of the city lived in the dift covered slums. They were covered with gabarge, or wrecked towns. The towns used to have names...now they were just known as sectors. It didn't help that the slums weren't the safest place either. Crime was a regular and there was nothing no one could do about it. The only authority that showed their awful faces below the hovering cityscape were the Shin-Ra soldiers, coming down to check on things every now and then. Most of the time they didn't even care about petty crimes and theiveries. Everyone knew that SOLDIER was not your friend.

"hmpf...a floating city...pretty unsettling scenery..." Cloud spoke softy as he eyed outside the window.

Barret turned to him, "Huh? Never expected ta hear that outta someone like you. ...You jus' full of surprises." He got up and began to pace around the train angrily. By now the lights had turned back on. "The upper world...it's a city on a plate...its cause of that!" He furiously pointed out the window to the dark, metal clouds that engulfed the slums, "That's why people underneath are suffering."

Cloud removed himself from the window and sighed before he headed back to where he was sitting. He looked at Barret, "Why doesn't everyone just move up onto the plates?"

Barret stoped walking and returned Cloud's gaze. Then, he looked puzzled. "Dunno. Probably 'cause they ain't got no money. Or, maybe... 'Cause they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."

Cloud looked down at his lap. "I know... no one lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't run anywhere except where its rails take it."

Almost nearing it's destination, the train began to spiral down a large, rock column attached to the sector 7 plate. It began to grow weary and dark as they burrowed deeper and deeper into the slums. Cloud could already smell the sick air burning his nose. He had forgotten how bad it was.

It was almost 1:00 a.m. when the Train docked at the Sector 7 Station. The small group proceeded out of the train, following another small huddle of passengers. Barret was first off. Immidiately, he headed away from the strangers and near a lampost just left of the train.

"Hey! everyone! over here!" He waved his massive gatling arm in the air. The others followed to where he was standing. As they advanced closer Barret began to make frequent hand signals for them to hurry up. Once they were under the illuminating light of the lampost, Barret brought everyone in for a quiet huddle.

"Alright this mission was a success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion! Cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that!" He warned. "Ok, everyone meet back at the hideout!"

Cloud watched as Biggs, Wedge and Jessie headed off. Instead he stayed and looked around. It was clear that this station used to be alot bigger. There was a complete field, dead with trains left in ruins. Destoryed when the city had been taken over. There were no lights across the train graveyard and the silece was beginning to creep him out, so he shifted his gaze up towards the large pillar that was that main support of the entire Sector 7 Plate. 'If we knock down anymore reactors, will that maybe cause the pillars to collapse? How many people and towns would be turned to dust if it did happen...'

"Yo! Cloud! Over here!" Barret interupted his thoughts and waved him over.

The whole trip back to the hideout, Barret had went over tomorrows plan in full detail. He was really anxious about this wasn't he? Cloud had only been paying attention half the time. He had his ind on other things...like what the upper part of the city thought about all this? What happened after the explosion? Maybe Blowing up another reactor so soon wasn't such a good idea since they didn't know the full details of what happened with the first one. The whole idea seemed very irrational.

"Ah whatever, I'll tell ya tomorrow." Cloud heard Barret through his deep thought. They had arrived at he hideout. They were in a very small town. The main dirt road had about 6 or 7 public buildings. Each were made either out of wood, or various sheets of metal. It didn't get much more glamousous than that. Cloud and Barret made their way into the town. Barret, being the "one in charge", the "leader" and the "authority" starting shooting up the place with his massive arm. His internsions were not to harm anyone, only to announce that he was back, and that he had succeeded. Several people were started by the sudden gunfire and screamed and ran off.

Out of an old wooden two story building came a young woman. She had headr the shooting and immidenately responded.

"Barret!" She walked over to him and placed her hands on her hips. "It's late! People are trying to sleep! What are you DOING?"

Cloud, wanting nothing to do with this, snuck passed the two of them and silently padded up the old creaky wooden stairs at the foot of the bar. He opend the door and headed in.

Cloud decided to take a seat on one of the stools at the old bar. His boots made loud clanking noises as he made his way over. He sat down on the school with a loud squeak, when a woman tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face her.

"Did you hear?" She asked.

"No, what?"

"There's a news update. They say that there was a terrorist explosion up above, and that this time it was a Mako Reactor! You know what this means?"

He shook his head.

" Ya see, I keep on top of these things, an' if ya ask me... if you knock out Midgar's power, then all of its computers and signals are going to be knocked out, too. Financially there must've been about a billion gil worth of damage. An' that ain't all! A lotta innocent people got killed, too! If the explosion had been in the middle of the night, that woulda been one thing. At least the people coulda gone in their sleep. This Mako explosion has really sent Midgar into a fit."

So there had been a lot of casualties. Cloud didn't think there would have been that much, after the alarm went off, SOLDIER's were trained to vacate the premises. 'Oh well." he thought, there as nothing no one could do now...

"PAPA!" Cloud almost jumped right out of his seat when he heard a high pitched squeal coming from the door on the right side of the bar that had just opened. He watched as a little brown haired girl ran over to him. Apparently she thought that when he entered this late at night, he must've been her dad coming home. She realized that she was mistaken however, when she backed up away from him.

At the moment, the girl form outside that had previusly been scolding Barret had walked in. At once, the little girl ran over to her and hid behind her legs.

"Marlene...aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" She asked her and the glanced at Cloud.

Yes, she and Cloud knew each other. Her name was Tifa. Tifa was the bartender and the owner of Seventh Heaven. She had recently joined up with Avalanche, although she had already known Barret for a few years. She was young, around 20. She had long chesnut hair, a good figure thanks to her fighting practice, and deep brown eyes. She was good looking, which made a bar somewhat hard to manage. There was atleast one drunk guy hitting on her each night, but there was nothing she couldn't handle on her own.

"So...Did you fight with Barret?" She questioned, knowing the answer already.

Cloud and Tifa had known each other since they were young. When Cloud left to join SOLDIER at 14, they had rarely talked after that and grew apart.

"A little bit."

" should have known. He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little."

Tifa shifted her gaze down to Cloud's pocket where a light shade of pink was showing. She recognized it instantly. "A flower. You don't see many of thse around here." She said, surprised.

Oh, he had forgot he had that. Cloud reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the flower. He could see Marlene still hiding behind Tifa. He stood up, causing the stool to grind against the woden floors. Cloud slowly walked over to Tifa and stopped. She didn't know exactly what he was doing, was the flower for her? He didn't change the expression on his neutral face. Instead, he bent down and held out the flower to Marlene. Marlene still didn't move. Hmmm...he must've been more intimidating than he thought. He offered her a small grin.

She cautiously came out from behind Tifa and slowly reached her hand out to take the flower. She still had a shy look plastered on her young face. Marlene lifted the flower up to her nose and sniffed it, then gave Cloud a small smile before returning back behind Tifa and lightly gripped her short, black skirt.

Cloud stood up and looked around. He could see Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were already in the back of the bar and they had already started drinking and were quickly becoming intoxicated. He didn't want to stay here. He felt like he didn't belong there. Not with the avalanche group...not with Tifa.

"I shoud go." He spoke quietly. Tifa didn't say anything as he turned and headed toward the door. Cloud reached for the rusty handle, when he cursed Barret for barging in at that very moment.

Marlene's face instantly lit up. An ear to ear smile appeared on her face. "PAPA!" She darted away from behind Tifa and hurled herself into Barret's arms. He then lifted her up so she was sitting on his massive should. "Welcome home papa."

Barret grinned. "I missed ya!- Hey, where did you get that?" He asked, eyeing the small pink flower that she gripped in her tiny hands. Marlene looked down at the flower and answered quietly, "Cloud gave it to me."

Barret looked at Cloud who was leaning against the wall directly beside the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "oh..." he mused. "Did you thank him?"

Marlene looked up slowly, "Thank you Cloud." She replied in a shy voice.

"Alright! Is everyone here?" Barret looked around to see if everyone was present and accounted for. A few of the guys were slightly tipsy, but other than that. Everyone was there. "Ok, everyone downstairs! We're startin' the meeting!" He announced. Cluod watched from his tiny spot on the wall as Barret placed Marlene down and headed toward a small lift near the door to the irght of the bar that Marlene had been in before she had come out and mistaken Cloud for Barret. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie fumbled off their seats and wobbled over to the lift where they joined Barret. As they all stood in the lift, it creaked with all the weight that was placed on it. Barret pushed one of the buttons inside and closed the door. A humming noise was emitted when the button was pushed but it soon faded as the lift travelled down to the basement of the bar.

There was no one left in the small bar now. Just Cloud who remained up against the wall, and Tifa who was back to washing mugs. Marlene had headed off into the room near the lift and the only noise that broke the room's silence was the hard rock music that was quietly being played on an old stereo behind the bar.

Tifa ran her damp rag along a shiny clean mug and placed it beneath the counter. As she lifted her head up, she realized that Cloud was still there. Hadn't he gone with the others. Figures...he was always stubborn like that. She made eye contact with him, but his face remained the same.

'why does he always look so angry? What is with him? Oh well, can't say I complain. He still looks good like that...' She thought to herself.

Tifa broke their gaze and put another glass away. Before she looked up again she spoke to him. "Sit down." Cloud blinked. He was a little taken back by her authoritive tone. She looked up and into his eyes again. As much as he hated it when people bossed him around, they both knew he wasn't going to walk away. He unfolded his arms and let them drop to his sides. He sighed and headed over to the bar to take a seat.

"How about something to drink?" Tifa offered, crossing her arms and leaning over the bar.

Cloud looked over to the side and mumbled something incoherently.

"huh?"

"...sure." He said again, slightly louder. He turned his head away from the side and looked at her. "Something hard."

She smiled at him and stood up straight. "Alright, hold on." She ducked underneather the bar and the clinging together of bottles could be heard. Within 15 seconds, she rose up and placed a small glass on the counter. Cloud picked up the small glass and swirled it around in his hand before taking a large gulp, leaving about half of his drink left.

"You know, I'm glad you made it back safely."

Cloud placed his drink down and eyed her, almost suspicously. "What's with you all of a sudden? The job wasn't even that tough." He questioned before gulping down the last half of his drink.

Tifa shook her head. 'Wow, was that the first full sentence he's spoken all night?' she mused to herself. "Nevermind. And don't forget to collect your pay from Barret." She reminded him.

"Don't worry." He pushed his glass over to her so she could wash it, "Once I get that, I'm outta here." Cloud stood up and turned towards the lift. "Cloud?" He turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah...why?"

'There he goes again...speaking all dark and quiet...what is with him? He sure has changed.'

Tifa sighed. "I dunno you look tired or something. You better go down below and get some rest." She recommended.

Cloud nodded and headed for the lift.

Cloud opeend the small wooden door that led into the basement room of the bar. He looked around and saw everyone sitting around on the couches and chairs. This had to be one of the comfortable looking rooms he'd seen in this sector for a long time. The walls were of wooden columns filled with posters and pictures and other small things. There were three couches near the centre of the room on a large carpet that formed an almost square. The last side of the square was replaced with a tv. There was a small bar at the the back of the room, and to the left of that there was an open door that led to a bedroom. Finally, on the right side of the room, which was directly across from where Cloud was standing, there was a small bathroom.

Cloud walked silently on the carpeted floors and took a seat next to Wdge on one of the couches.

"Hey!" He greeted him. "The next mission will be to blow up the Sector 5 Reactor. Cloud, you're great! Don't you ever get nervous? Or are you like, impervious to feelings?" Wedge questioned.

Cloud ignored his last comment, there was going to be another mission that he was to be a part of? Geez...he better be getting lots of money for this...

His thoughts were distracted by Biggs turning up the tv. Cloud focused his attention on the report.

"today the No 1 Reactor was bombed. The terrorist group AVALANCHE has claimed responsibility for the bombing. It is expected that AVALANCHE will continue its reign of terror. But citizens of Midgar, there is no need to fear. I have immediately mobilized SOLDIER to protect our citizenry against this senseless violence. Thank you and goodnight."

Cloud recognized the man on tv. That was the president of Shin-Ra. "Yo, Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?" Barret questioned him from across the room. Cloud cocked his head all the way around behind the couch and caught sight of Barret. He stood up and walked over to him. "Anyone from SOLDIER?" He questioned with a slight tone of humor in his voice that was quite noticable. "None I'm positive." He answered.

Barret eyed him, "You sound pretty sure."

Cloud nodded, "If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here now."

Barret was taken back by the comment and put a disgusted look on his face. "Don't be thinkin' you so bad jus' cuz you was in SOLDIER."

Cloud didn;t say anything. Barret could think what he want because he really didn;t care about his ego right now.

"Yeah, you're strong. Probably all them in SOLDIER are. But don't forget that your skinny ass's working' for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' on to Shinra." Barret warned.

Cloud's eyes widened for a moment, but then took focus again. "Staying with Shin-Ra? You asked me a question, and I answered it." He said coldly. Cloud stepped closer to Barret and kept his tone of voice, "I;m going upstairs. I want to talk about my money." He headed back over to the lift, but when he reached it, Tifa had just come down, and had apparently heard the whole thing.

"Wait, Cloud" She tried to stop him as he brushed passed her.

"Ah let him go! Looks like he still misses his Shin-Ra." Barret taunted.

Cloud stopped and tunred his head back to Barret, "I don't miss Shin-Ra, and I don;t miss SOLDIER." He turned back around and got onto the lift, "But don;t get me wrong, I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter." He finished, hitting the button to activate the lift.

This was stupid why should he have to stay with these people? All they did was bad mouth him. Ridicule him for what he USED to be. He couldn't take much more. Cloud decided he was just going to get out of there, stay in a room for the night and get his money in the morning and then have nothing to do with any of them again... maybe even Tifa.

Cloud was just about to open the door to the bar when the unmistakable rumble of the lift was heard. He sighed and dropped his head. 'just leave me alone.' he begged to himself.

The lift stopped and the floor stopped shaking. "Cloud, wait." It was Tifa. Of course it was Tifa. Who else would come up here and try to stop him? He took his hand of the knob of the door and turned to face her. She approached him. "Listen Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us."

He almost wanted to laugh. No way could he spend more than two minutes in a room alone with Barret from the way he was acting. Being polite, he just shook his head. "Sorry Tifa..."

Her expression immediately changed from neutral to pained. She looked like she was about to cry. Why was it such a big deal?

"The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely, it's dying. Someone has to do something."

He shrugged, "So, let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's not my problem." With that, Cloud turned his back to Tifa and grabbed the door handle, but before he could open it, she had stepped in his way and leaned up against the door. Preventing him from opening it.

He let out a frustrated sigh and glared at her, leting her know he was getting very annoyed with this and hoping she'd just let him go.

"So what? You just going walk right out, ignoring your childhood friend!"

Cloud let his hand drop for the doorknob. The glare he had been sending Tifa immidiately faded off his normally stoic features.

"What?"

Tifa bit her lip. "...You forgot the promise too."

Cloud quickly tried to search his mind. What was she talking about? Was she trying to fool him? Ah god, he had nothing."

"Promise?" He nervously asked.

She lowered her head and slumped up against the door. "So...you did forget."

"Remember...it was seven years ago."

Cloud looked up and closed his eyes. She better not have been doing this to make him feel guilty...

Aww geez, there it was...now he remembered. It was nightime. The sky, it was so clear...the stars were so perfectly visible. They were at the old well. "I remember now." He said quietly.

"I thought you would never come." He told her. "I was getting cold."

"Sorry I'm late." She walked through the long, lush green grass and hopped up on the well and took a seat beside Cloud.

"You said you wanted to tell me something?"

Cloud lowered his head, "Uh yeah...come this spring, I'm leaving town for Midgar."

"All the boys are elaving." Tifa said dully.

Cloud hopped up of the well and looked up, "Yeah...but I;m not going just to get a job." He looked towards her, "I'm going to join SOLDIER."

A look of shock spread over her face, but she let him continue.

"I wanna be the best the is, just like Sephiroth."

"The Great Sephiroth?"

He nodded.

"But, isn't it really hard to join SOLDIER? Don't you have to be in great shape, be strong, know how to use weapons?" She questioned as he made his way to the top of the well once and again and sat down beside her.

"Yeah." Apparently he though nothing of it. "I'll probably be gone for a while."

She started to giggle, this kid had never used ANY weapon in his entire life and he certainly wasn't that strong or in shape, he was one fo the most skroniest looking kids she'd ever laid eyes on.

"What?"

"nothing, hey will you be in the newpapers?" She asked. Alot of famous members of SOLDIER were in the papers, namely Sephiorth.

Cloud shrugged, "I'll try."

"Hey," Tifa turned and shifted herself so she was facing Cloud more, "Let's make a promise."

Cloud narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"If you um...If you ever become famous...and I;m in a bind, you'll...come save me." She blushed slightly.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "If I'm ever in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to experience that at least once."

He stared blankly at her.

"Come on! Just promise me!" She laughed.

"Alright, alright! I promise." Cloud began to laugh along with her.

"Good."

"Now do you remember?"

Cloud dropped his head and shook it slowly. "I'm not a hero, and I'm not famous. I can't keep that promise."

Tifa removed herself from the door and looked at him. Remembering what he had been like back then showed her how much he had really changed. He wasn't as happy and energetic as he used to be. Judging from the massive swored sheathed to his back, he now knew how to use a weapon, and he definately, definately wasn't skrony anymore. All the training he had went through had certainly filled him out. She could see it in his arms, which were compeltely bare, and the way his shirt clung to his torso somewhat exposed him, but only slightly.

Cloud ran a hand through his hair in confusion.

"Please?" Tifa begged.

No, no he couldn't stay, he didn't WANT to stay. He turned to leave.

"Wait a sec big time Soldier!"

Cloud sighed inwardly. Of course Barret would show up just as he was about to leave...again!

"A promise is a promise!" He spat as he headed away from the lft and tossed Cloud a small bag.

Cloud reached out with both hands and caught it. He opened the bag a peered inside. Cloud lifted his head with a skeptical look plastered on his face.

"This is my pay? Don't make me laugh"

"Hey!" Barret countered, but Cloud interupted him,

"If you have the next mission lined up, I'll do it for 3000." He said.

"WHAT!" Barret yelled, outraged.

"Barret, " Tifa turned to him and whispered, "We're really hurting for help."

Barret sighed. "But that money is for Marlene's schoolin" Barret looked around and sighed. He turned to Cloud, "2000!" and with that, he headed back downstairs without another word.

"Thanks Cloud." Tifa smiled at him. "We should be heading to bed, it's getting late."

Tifa and Cloud had reached downstairs to find that all the lights but a tiny lamp were shut off and everyone was already asleep. Marlene was upstairs in her own room, Barret had headed off in to the bedroom away from the rec room and Biggs, Wdge and Jessie had taken up the couches.

Tifa had headed off into the bathroom, so Cloud decided to take a seat on a nice soft chair. He sighed a sigh of relief as soon as he hit the soft cushion. It had been all day since he had gotten to rest. Cloud tilted his head back and contemplated on sleeping in that chair for the night, but quickly decided against it because if he woke up he knew he'd never get back to sleep. It was the floor for him. But where were the stupid blankets. Cloud decided he'd wait till Tifa returned to ask where they were. He reluctantly stood up and stretched his arms. He then romoved his sheath and placed it up againts a nearby wall and took off his belts and threw them on the ground, being careful not to make too much noise. Placing one heel over the other, he kicked off his boots and put them beside the chair. He could faintly hear Tifa roaming around in the bathroom, doing whatever with herself. He was getting restless and wanted to go to sleep and he wished she'd hurry up.

Cloud sat right back down in the chair and slid down so he was completely slumped over. Taking notice that it wasn't the coolest place in the building, Cloud unzipped his vest and slid it off. Standing back up, he walked over to where he laid his sheath and belts and tossed his vest down. Suddenly he heard the door handle to the bathroom jingle and Cloud turned around to see Tifa walking out. She didn;t really notice he was there at first because she just started walking across the room, until she spoke up. "Sorry I took so long, I didn't want to, " She stopped when she looked up at him.

Cloud looked around..."What...?" He was beginning to feel nervous with her staring at him.

Tifa blnked and shook her head, "I, uh nothing, nothing. Do you want a blanket?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow at her. "...sure" He said, grabbing the blanket she tossed at him from a nearby closet. Tifa dug into the closet and began throwing out more blankets and pillows for them to sleep on. Cloud moved into the centre of the room and pushed the table to the side to make froom for him and Tifa to sleep. He then grabbed a few of the blankets and placed them neatly on the ground as a padding to keep them from having to sleep on the hard floor. Tifa kept tossing out pillows and Cloud put them down so that they were leaning on the couches. He picked up the rest of the blankets and put a few overtop for comforters. Tifa finished tossing out all the blankets and closet the closet door slowly as to not make it squeak and wake up the others. She walked over to the makeshift bed and sat down, lifting up a few blankets and crawled underneath them.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" SHe looked up at Cloud and asked.

"...Yeah, I guess so." Cloud knelt down and grabbed one of the blankets and got underneath it. Man it felt good to actually lay on something soft. He immideatly shut his eyes.

"Cloud...?" His eyes lazily opened again. He turned to face Tifa beside him, "Yeah?"

"Thanks for staying." She whispered.

Cloud just nodded and shifted around so he was laying on his back and placed his arms behind his head.

"Goodnight Cloud." Tifa said and closed her eyes.

"...Night Tifa..." He mumbled back before instantly drifting off to sleep.

His body felt too weak to move. He wanted to stay like that forever. He wasn't asleep, but his eyes were definately staying shut. So comfy...

"Cloud!"

'...fuck'

He groaned in annoyance.

"Get up, you too Tifa."

Tifa streatched her arms and opened her eyes. "What time is it Barret?"

"10, hurry up now."

"K..." Tifa sat up and rubbed the back of her neck. She looked around drowzily and saw Cloud, on his stomach, face in his pillow, one arm under the pillow and one arm over it. He was breathing heavily and his blankets had fallen so they were at the hem of his pants.

Tifa stretched her hand and placed it on Cloud's bare back and nudged him slightly.

"...Cloud"

"...uhhhh..." She heard him mumble into the pillow.

"Wake up."

"I'm up..." He still didn't move.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted, ruffling his hair. He said something incoherent and lifted his head up. Tifa held in a laugh. His face was nothing but sleepy, his vibrant blonde hair was all over the place and his eyes were drooping heavily.

"Get much sleep?" she asked.

Cloud ran a hand over his face and through his hair, "Yeah...it wouldn't hurt to have more though."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Tifa agreed while stratching her arms over her head.

"Now get up." she grabbed the blankets from atop Cloud and herself and threw them in the nearby closet. Cloud sighed. 'Great...now I'm cold...oh well I still have these blankets...and my pillows.' he thought to himself before plopping right back down on the floor again.

Not long after, Tifa came back by again and fiercely ripped the blankets from underneath Cloud.

He moaned is annoyance and clutched his pillows as hard as he could.

"Give me those..."

"No."

Tifa sighed and grabbed for the pillows. Cloud wouldn't budge.

"god you are so stubborn!" She threw up her hands in defeat and walked off to find some more clothes.

Cloud finally found the strength to get up about 20 minutes later. No one was in the basement. The lights were turned off, except for one small one in the corner. Cloud picked up his pillows and threw them in the closet. He then walked over to the nearby wall where he had placed his belongings. Sitting down, he grabbed his socks and boots and pulled them on. Feeling a yawn creep up on him, Cloud stretched his body and reached over and scratched his back as he finished yawning. He stood up and picked up his shirt and flung it over his shoulder. Then, reached down to grab the cold handle of his broadsword and put it over his other shoulder and proceeded to the lift.

" Bout' fuckin time you got yerself up! Ya lazy ass!" Cloud was greeted by an aggrivated Barret.

"Yeah yeah, you got a shower here anywhere?"

Barret grumbled. No matter how much he yelled at him, he knew he wouldn't care. "Over there..." he pointed to a room beside Marlene's bedroom.

Cloud strode over to the bathroom and into the shower.

20 minutes later, Cloud came out of the bathroom with a small towel in his hand, attempting to dry his hair, which was resting in all kinds of different places atop his head.

"Alright," Barret started, "We're gonna get the Sector 5 reactor this time."

Cloud sat down at the bar bside Tifa and listened to what Barret had to say...for once.

"I'm going this time." she told Cloud.

"No one's stopping you..." he added.

Tifa frowned at the comment, she didn't know why, maybe she wanted Cloud to have objected to it...

"Alright!" Barret got their attention once again, "We headin out now! Everyone meet at the train station now!"

'Alirght fine, let's all go to the trainstation, no one's eaten or anything...' Cloud thought to himself, annoyed.

Everyone grabbed their belongings and headed out of the bar. Tifa headed behind the counter to grab the "Closed" sign. She picked it up and brought it to the door and placed it on the small hook.

"Marlene," Barret turned to the small girl who was sitting on a barstood witha deck of cards playing solitare with herself, "you keep the doors and windows locked and tell everyone who phones that we're closed today. Don't mess around underneath the bar and either stay in your room or downstairs. Oh and don't go gettin to drunk now." he joked. Marelene laughed, "Don't worry Papa, I'll be good."

Cloud was the first one to head out the door. Being eager to finish this job and get food at the same time, he broke away from the rest of the group.

"HEY?" Barret called after him. Cloud turned his heals ad faced Barret, a few feet away from him,

"where you goin?"

"Don't worry," Cloud crossed his arms, "I'll be at the train station, I'm just going ahead, Im hungry. Im going to get somthing to eat"

"I'll come with you." Tifa stepped forward and offered. Cloud shook his head, "I wanna be alone for a while..."

Tifa's head sunk, "Ok...If you want."

Cloud nodded and turned back towards the exit of the sector.

Walking along the dirt path, he tried to clear his head, and just relax, but he was thinking of to many things. He didn't even know why. Being alone really let him see things that he never saw before. When he had arrived in the slums with Barret and the others the night before, he kept his mind on how annoying and aggitating Barret was being, but now that he stopped to look around, Cloud noticed why Barret was doing all this. The whole sector looked like a landfill. Broken parts, and garbage everywhere. The smell was terrible, like something constantly rotting. There was no single structure that had been properly built or maintained. Children had no where to play. There were barely any schools, and everyone was making just enough money to survive. Well, half the people anyway. The homeless rested up against, the broken down concrete walls. Covered in dust and filth and barely clothed. Cloud realized he probabaly shouldn't have dismissed Barret's caring of the planet so absent mindedly. Now that he really got a chance to see why he was doing it, Cloud suddenly became eager to blow this next reactor up and teach ShinRa a lesson. Not to mention he hated them in the first place.

Nearing the end of the small sector, Cloud headed into a small building with a sign over it tha read "Jim's" he figured it must have some sort of food in it, so he trotted up the stairs and opened the creaky wooden door. Inside smelled good, unlike the rest of the sector. It smelled like food...and booze, but compared to outside, it smelled like heaven.

Walking over the bar and sitting down, Cloud looked around. The resturaunt was dull and dark. There were quite a few people in there. He guessed no one had anything else to do. A moment later, a bald man behind the bar came and took his order.

About a half an hour later, Cloud emerged from the resturaunt. He squinted his eyes as he took his first step outside. Despite there being no sunlight, the artificial lights that illuminated the sectors were still bright compared to the carkness he had gotten acustomed to in the building.

Food sure had tasted good. He hadn't eaten for almost a day. He would've gladly eaten more but decided it was time to get to the station before the train left.

As he headed out of the sector and into the crossway which led to the station, Cloud sighed, and once again found himself looking around. Not a single vehicle or paved road existed underneath the top of midgar. Which led him to think, why did the people here trust ShinRa so much, if they were forced to live in this hellhole? Didn't the people have any common snese or think for themselves. Well, he couldn;t blame them, he relied on them once too, and he cursed himself for being so ignorant. Heading East to the old Station entrance which was crumbling apart. You could barely read the stone sign anymore and it appeared as though it would fall on top of your head when you walked under it.

The rest of the group was piled in the front of the docking station, waiting for Cloud so they could get on the train. Cloud entered the rundown station and headed over them.

Barret noticed him first, "You the last one here."

Cloud nodded, "Yeah , I can see that, thanks." Barret shot him another one of his 'annoyed' looks that we becoming quite frequent.

"...Alright..." he grumbled, "here's the plan..."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: As much as I _want_ the rights to this..I don't have them...and never will. Everything belongs to the good folks at Square Enix.

_Alrighty! Chapter 2! This scene jumps from after the second reactor, just to get things going, but! Have no fear! It's just to get the story going, we'll go back to what happened later.  
_

There was a small ray of sunlight...real sunlight shining through the broken rooftop of the church. No one knew about it, except for her. She had been spending her time here for a few years now, it was the one place where the Turks never bothered her, and she was thankful for it.

Sighing to herself, Aeris stood up and walked over to some of the still standing benches and began to remove her red jacket. It was quite hot out today, which rarely happned. She hoped it wouldn't make for bad growing weather for her flowers, but they were fairly easy to grow...in the church anyway.

After tossing her jacket onto the bench, Aeris strode back over to the centre of the church where her brightly colored flowers were growing in the small patch of sunlight that illuminated the bulk of the church. Kneeling down again, and grabbing the small watering can she had brought with her, Aeris resumed watering the flowers, lightly sprinkling each flower with an equal amount of liquid.

When she was done, she wiped off her brow which was getting slightly sweaty from the heat and sunlight. Aeris picked up her watering can and turned to leave...but she stopped. Lifting her head slightly, she listened closely. She heard something...atleast, she thought she did. After a brief moment of intent listening, Aeris decided it was either her imagination, or the wind, but just as soon as she lifted her foot to leave...the noise she assumed WASN'T there, made itself very evident with an abundance of loud crashing noises above her before she passed out.

"Ughh..." Aeris opened her eyes. 'Where am I?' She thought while trying to focus her sight.

'Benches? Flowers? Oh...that's right...the church...but what happen-owww!' She suddently remembered that something had abruptly fallen on top of her...and was still there.

Aeris assumed that in the church's old state, some of the roof had collapsed, but when she rolled around and shifted under what was on top of her, she gasped. There, laying passed out, right across her on his stomach was some man. Some random man that fell through her roof.

Aeris winced as she managed to pull most of herself out from underneath the stranger, and tossed off the bits of wood and other debris that had toppled onto her during the man's intrusion. She brought a hand to her head to attempt to massage her massive headache away...it didn't work.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her chest. A small green light appeared before her, bright and sparkling. Aeris immediately recognized the cooling sensation flowing through her body and opened her eyes back up. 'Ah...much better.' she sighed with felief as all pain she had once felt was now gone...although there was still a heavy somebody resting on her legs.

Sitting up, Aeris placed her hand gently on the stranger's back and lightly began to roll him over onto the patch of flowers, much to her dismay. After pulling her legs out from underneath him, Aeris carefully examined the stranger who had fallen on her. He had only a few scratches on his arms and face, and one larger cut across his chest that would needed to be taken care of. While looking at his wounds, Aeris brought her gaze up to his face...his, 'really good looking face.' She mused to herself while continuing to look him over. He had the most odd head of blonde hair she had ever seen. She liked it none the less. Although he was passed out, he actually looked quite peaceful. Looking down to his arms, she gently grabbed them and squeezed them slightly to make sure they weren't broken, mentally taking into account how solid they were...

'What the hell is wrong with me? Get a grip Aeris, this is some strange guy that fell from your roof, injured, and all you can think of is how good he looks!' she mentally kicked herself for thinking such things.

Finally shaking her head free of anything even remotely inappropriate, Aeris backed away from the young man a little bit and rested on her knees beside him. She then placed her hands out in front of him, as the same green glow was emmited and engulfed him for a brief moment, healing all his minor cuts and bruises. 'That should do it...he should be awake any second now...'

Just as her thought had cleared her mind, she saw the man stir and his eyes fluttered open.

Cloud managed to open his eyes and focus in on his surroundings. He was laying down, in something surprisingly soft...He felt around with his hands. Flowers? 'That girl...she had flowers...ow...my head. What the hell happened?' He began to sit up, but immediately regretted it when an immense pain in his chest stopped him dead, not to mention the pair of hands on his shoulders.

"Don't...don't strain yourself. You got slashed pretty bad by some of the wood." a calm voice said. Wait, he knew that voice, so light and cheery...Cloud rubbed the back of his head and looked up to face a familiar pair of bright green eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked, taking her hands away from him.

Cloud closed his eyes in confusion and rubbed his forehead, 'God, i have NO idea what she's even talking about...'

"I...no...wh-what happened?" He asked, opening his eyes to face her again.

She frowned at him, but slightly giggled and answered, "You fell through my roof."

Cloud rubbed his hand over his face and groaned..."How long was I out?"

Aeris went red, "Well uh...actually I dont really know, you kinda, landed...umm...on top of me and I got knocked out too..."

Cloud's eyes widened, "I-I'm so sorry! Are you-are you ok!" He appologized and went to move slightly but the gash on his chest got the best of him and he winced in pain again and clutched his injured area. Aeris immediately reached out to hold him up straight, "Oh! I almost forgot! Ok I'll take you to one of the rooms, I can get a better look at you there." She offered.

"Ah...ok.." Cloud agreed while struggling to get up with the aid of the young lady who had been kind enough to help him out.

"By the way, " She started while hoisting him up and placing an arm around his waist and the other on his stomach to help him walk, "I'm Aeris."

'Aeris...' he mused..."Cloud." He replied, placing a sore arm over her shoulders for strength.

"Well, Cloud...we should probably get you into a bed." Aeris smiled at him and led him to the back of the church.

She had helped Cloud into a small room with a bed that was attached to a tiny bathroom through a small hallway at the end of the church. There was a window with just enough light to fill the room, and a small desk not far from the bed.

"Alright, you just lay down while I get some water ok?" She instructed and headed into the bathroom. Cloud did as he was told and carefully placed himself down on the bed. Moments later, Aeris had emergred with a small bowl of water and a washcloth.

"So, Cloud." she said while sitting on the bed, "How exactly, did you manage to fall through my roof anyway?" she giggled.

"Actually...I don't even remember."

Aeris smiled at the way he talked. He sounded so deep and calm. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll remember, you just need some time to get better." She assured him while running the cloth along his face and arms, removing any dry blood left from his small cuts. "just relax for now."

Cloud took her up on her offer and exhaled deeply and took this time to look her over. She had stunning green eyes, from which he had noticed before, and the red jacket she had last he saw her was missing, revealing her sleeveless pink button up dress that clung nicely to her. Her hair was long and golden brown. Most of it was done up in a long braid, but a few strands were dangling neatly near her face. "You don't...you don't remember me do you?" Aeris said, biting her lip.

Cloud looked at her, "Sure I do, you sold me a flower last night. I gave it to my friend's daughter, she really liked it...thank you." Aeris blushed at his comment. "No, thank you. You tip generously." she said, reminding him of the amount of money he had given her for just one flower.

"That was no problem at all."

"Well..." She began to object, placing the cloth back in the bowl after cleaning him up, "either way, I'm grateful...and if there's something I can do to pay you back I-" she was interupted by Cloud laughing at her. "You're already taking unnecessary care of me, which_ I_ am grateful for because I don't think I'd be able to walk home, and I was the one who crashed in on you. I don't think you need to do anything else for me."

Aeris sighed, "Well...if you insist...but, I have to fix that cut on your chest quickly before it gets infected, so I need you to take off your armor and your shirt...to uh...fully tend to it." she trailed off.

Cloud nodded and began to sit up slowly, as to not tamper with his cut even more. He undid his shoulder guard and let it drop on the bed. "Oh, here let me help you with this..." Aeris offered, moving around to access his sheath to take it off for him. "Thanks." He said, unzipping his vest and tossing it off the bed while Aeris "attempted" to place his heavy sword against the wall.

Cloud turned and leant against the wall that the bed was pressed against so Aeris could fully see his cut, and he could see what exactly she planned on doing with it.

After successfully placing the sword up against the wall, Aeris turned back around to face Cloud and immediately began blushing. 'Ok, so the rest of him looks good too...' she "attempted" to hide her red face, but it didn't work so well, luckily she didn't really have anything to worry about seeing as how Cloud had been engaged with examining his cut. It turned out it wasn't too deep, but it was definately a long gash.

Aeris inhaled and shut her eyes tightly, then quickly exhaled while trying to get the normal colour back to her face. "So..." Cloud trailed off, "You uh...you got any ideas for this?" He said pointing to his stomach, "It's kinda...bleeding."

Aeris clued in to what he was saying and walked over to him, "Let me see." She demanded lightly while placing a hand on his wrist and moving his hand away from the wound. "Hmmm...It's not too deep. It won't leave a scar, but it's pretty big. I'm pretty sure I can heal it no problem." she assured him.

Cloud's eyes went wide, "Wait, heal like, White Magic heal?"

Aeris blinked, somewhat confused, "Yes. Why? What's wrong?"

"Who do you work for?" Cloud asked.

She raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Huh? No one. What are you talking about?"

"I - well, usually people who are trained in White Magic work for large companies, like Shin-Ra, it costs a lot of money to put someone through such tough training." Cloud informed her.

Aeris sat down directly in front of Cloud and placed her hands on the bed, "Well, I was never trained by anyone, I've known how to do it ever since I was little."

Cloud cocked his head to the side in disbelief, "Now that, is interesting. I've never met anyone naturally skilled at White Magic before. Only the lessons and teachings were left in books from long ago for others to learn from. You must be something special."

Oh no, there came that blush again, she could feel it on her face. Even when he was doing it unintentionally, everything this guy said or did got the best of her. "Uhh...how about I just go ahead and fix this now..." Aeris stuttered.

"Please do." he agreed.

She leant closer to him and placed her hand slowly out, lighlty touching the top of the cut situated on his chest. "I'm not hurting you am I?" Aeris asked him cautiously, looking up to meet his bright blue eyes...wait, there was something about his eyes. They were beautiful yes, but they were glowing, only slightly, and she hadn't noticed it before.

"No, keep going." Cloud replied, holding a neutral face and keeping his gaze locked with hers.

Aeris complied by concentrating a familiar feeling and bringing through the tips of her fingers to his chest, and slowly moving her hand lower as she felt his skin repair itself. Cloud wanted to look down and see just what a curing spell looked like when it took effect, but for some reason he did not want to take his eyes off hers.

He had kept a blank expression on his face while looking at her, but Aeris swore she saw the corner of his mouth curve up ever so slightly when he noticed she swallowed heavily as her hand reached his stomach and glided over the outline of his muscles.

Cloud himself had never felt anything like this before. The whole front of his body was affected. Everywhere she touched tickled lightly, but made him relax when he felt his pain subside as her hand continued to move down, nearing the end of his wound.

Once his cut had completely healed, Aeris stopped her hand just to the right of his belly button, but unconsiously let it linger there for a moment, "...All fixed." she said quietly.

Keeping his eyes on hers as long as he could, Cloud tilted his head down to see the repair job she did. He placed a hand on his torso and traced along where his cut had been, or where he thought it had been. He couldn't even see anymore, 'Wow,' he thought, 'She didn't even leave a scar.'

"Just like new." Cloud commented, looking back up to Aeris and offering her a small smile.

"Here." She said, reaching for the cloth and bowl. "To wipe off the rest of the blood." Cloud took the bowl and reached in and grabbed the small cloth, ringing it out bfore wiping himself off.

"So, Aeris, do you live in here or what?"

"Oh, no I don't," She replied, lifting her legs and bringing her knees upward to fold her arms over. "I actually live in a house, not far from here."

"An actual house?" Cloud questioned. Aeris only nodded.

"Wow, you can heal, grow flowers, find a decent place to live in the slums, what else can you do?" He joked.

She smiled at him, "Oh, I have many talents ..."

Cloud wasn't sure which way to take that, but either way, she was quite the interesting girl, and he was curious as to what she was implying, but decided to keep his mouth shut while placing the bowl and cloth on the desk.

"Cloud...?"

"Yeah?" He looked up.

"What exactly do you do? I've never seen you around here before." Aeris asked him

"Me? Well I do a little bit of everything. Anything to make money you know?"

Aeris chuckled, "I see...hmmm it's uh...it's getting kind of dark." she pointed out, looking out the window. "You...you say you do everything?"

"...Yes." Cloud agreed, standing up and grabbing his vest. "Why?"

"Well," She began, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. Why was she nervous to ask him? It wasn't a big deal. "Well, would you...like to be my bodyguard?"

Cloud crossed his arms and rested himself up against the wall. "Bodyguard?"

"Umm, yeah, just for tonight. I don't really want to walk home alone."

"Hmmm..." Cloud pondered as he lifted up his vest and examined it. It was almost torn in half, seeing as the wood ripped right through the fabric. Not to mention there was blood covering it. He looked at it in disgust. There was no way he could wear it now.

"I can give you something to wear." Aeris read the expression on his face, "If..." She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I take you home." He finished for her.

Aeris bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders, indicating that was a 'yes.' It wasn't like he was going to turn her down anyway, why would he want to? She was kind, and gorgeous, and turned out to be one of the most engaging people he'd ever met, and he'd only been speaking to her for an hour! Not to mention she had graciously helped him out and offered her hospitality to him without question, which could have possibly turned out bad if he was someone else. Maybe she trusted people to easily, or maybe it was just him. He hoped it was just him.

"Yeah, I'll take you home." He agreed, grabbing his shoulder armor and loosely placing it on his bare arm.

Aeris' face lit up and she clasped her hands together, "Really!" She took a step forward towards him.

His back was facing her but he offered her an assuring glance behind his shoulder, then immediately turned back around to grab his sword off the wall and placed it, and the sheath on his bare back.

"Let's go." Cloud instructed.

Aeris nodded and began to follow him out of the small room. As they both made their way down the hall in silence, Aeris remembered she had left her jacket out in the middle of the church. "Oh, could you hold hold on a minute, I left my jacket out there." She said, pointing in the opposite direction of the exit. Cloud nodded and she turned her back to him and began to head out into the center of the building.

As soon as Aeris began walking, Cloud quickly regretted letting her go. His heightened sensed kicked into gear when he heard the faint noise of voices. 'Who would be wandering around here?' Deciding that didn't matter, Cloud hastily and silently grabbed Aeris by the arm and pulled her back.

"Cloud what-" She began but he twirled her around to pull her snug against him and placed his free hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Shhh..." He whispered as close into her neck as he could, so as not alert the intruders roaming around.

Aeris involuntaily shivered when Cloud's breath in her neck silenced her as he slowly moved them both against one of the walls in the hallway where the someone, or somebodies couldn't see them.

Cloud released his hand from her mouth slowly. "Does anybody else know about this place?" He asked into her ear, his hair lighlty tickling her face.

"N-no..." she whispered.

"Wait here then." He instructed, sliding out from in between her and the wall. It was after he had left that Aeris had noticed his arm had managed to find it's way tightly around her waist when he had pulled them against the wall.

Cloud kept his back to the wall and inched his way to the end of the hallway. He tilted his head slightly around the corner. Yep. There was somebody there. Three people, two looked like guards...no wait, Shin-Ra SOLDIER's...low class ones though...They were lead by another man who Cloud had never seen. He had bright red hair tied back in a ponytail with goggles a top his head. He was wearing a blue suit with an untucked, white collared shirt underneath. His out fit was quite disheveled. Jacket open, pants were too big, his shirt was unbuttoned at the top and bottom. Cloud watched as the man strutted through the church, "You guys see anything at all?" the man asked the two Soldiers.

"No Sir, it's quite dark in here. If she was here at all I think she might have left already." One of the other men commented.

"Hmmm..." The man in the suit stopped, "You're probably right, this was a completely pointless trip." He agreed with the other guy. "Come on, let's get outta here, I've wasted too much time on the girl." He led the other two men outside.

When Cloud was sure they had left the vicinity of the church, he backed off the wall and turned to Aeris, "So, you got someone following you?" He crossed his arms and questioned her.

Aeris put an appologetic look on her face, "Did he have red hair?" She asked cautiously.

Cloud only nodded.

Aeris sighed and walked over to him, "That was Reno. He's a Turk. They work for Shin-Ra."

"So, this wouldn't be the first time this has happened then." Cloud assumed. Aeris shook her head.

"Well you know how dangerous Shin-Ra is, you shouldn't be out alone at all if they're chasing you." He warned.

"I know, I'm sorry...but, they won't hurt me, they haven't yet. They've all had more than their fair share of chances to do that." Aeris informed him.

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "Why are they after you?"

To his surprise, Aeris just shrugged. "Beats me. They haven't even told me. But, we should head back now, it's almost completely dark out."

Cloud decided not to push anything further, and just nodded.

After Aeris had grabbed her jacket and the couple had left the church, Cloud began looking around. "Which way do you live anyway?"

"Just over there, it's not too far, we should be ther in about 20 minutes." Aeris pointed to the direction north of the church.

Cloud began to head out when he was stopped by Aeris gripping his hand. He turned and looked down at their hands together, and then up to her face, confused.

"I, uh, I just wanted to say thank you again." Aeris explained, letting her grip loosen off his hand. "I mean for taking me home, and helping me with Reno, he probably would have found me if you hadn't of heard him."

"Oh, that was...that was no problem at all." He said, feeling a slight shade of red creep up on his cheeks.

"Speaking of which..." Aeris eyed him curiously as they began walking through the sector, "How DID you manage to hear him coming along anyway? He must've been right outside of the church at the front. I didn't hear anything until a few minutes later when they were right near us, and even then, I couldn't tell who it was. How'd you do that?"

Cloud looked down at his feet. "Cloud...?" She asked again.

"...I used to be in SOLDIER..."

Aeris only smiled at him. "I thought so."

He looked up at her surprised, "Really? And you don't care?"

She laughed at him, "No, why would I? It's not like you work for them anymore."

"Oh...well how did you know then?"

Aeris looked away from him, "I uh...by your eyes...they have Mako in them right?"

Ok, now he was really confused. How did she know all this? "Yeah, that's right. How did you know?"

She looked up at him, "My old...boyfriend...he was in SOLDIER too...he told me they injected it in their top recruits."

Cloud nodded, "Ah, ok. What was his name, I might have known him."

"Zack, he was first rank."

Cloud looked up at the sky, trying to remember everyone in his team and rank, he couldn't recall anyone by that name. "I was...I was first rank too, I don't remember him."

"I see...I hevn't seen him in a long time, he...he disappeared a few years ago."

Cloud put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry...were you two serious?"

'Wait, that's none of my business! Why am I even interested? Ah shit.'

"Sorry." he apologized quickly, "That's none of my business...I shouldn't have asked that." he finished while removing his hand from her shoulder.

Aeris giggled lightly at him, "That's ok, it doesn't bother me. But, uh yeah we were kind of...I dated him for a little over a year. But that was a long time ago."

There was silence for a while after that...It had become quite akward after about thirty seconds...although it seemed like an hour.

"So," Aeris cleared her throat, "What exactly does injecting Mako do to you anyway?" She asked curiously.

Cloud looked at her, "Well, it basically enhances everything."

"Everything like...?"

"Uh, like hearing, as you can see, sight, lets you see sharper and further away...umm let's see..strength, I can gain muscle faster and lift heavier things, I can also heal about seven times faster and better than a normal person...and it also increases speed, like running, and stamina, so I can um...do any physical uh... activity about 4 times longer than anyone else can..."

Aeris grinned at him, '_Any_ physical activity, he says?'

"Well that's pretty impressive. Do you think you'd be where you are now without it?" she asked.

Cloud thought for a moment...he hated the Shin-Ra, a lot, and it bothered him to have the Mako inside of him...it was like a permanent scar left on him that proved that they had once 'owned' him at some point. But as much as he didn't enjoy it, he knew he probably wouldn't be half as strong or abled in 'many' areas as he was now.

"I don't think so..." he answered, ashamed.

More silence followed after that, but not for long. Aeris had suddenly perked up when they reached a large area, almost like an intersection in the middle of the slums.

"We're almost there."

Cloud sighed, "Good, I'm getting a little chilly out here." Aeris smiled to herself, she thought he would get cold. It wasn't like she'd "forgotten" that he didn't have a shirt on...she'd practically been staring at him the whole time, luckily he hadn't noticed at all. Either that or he had and didn't say anything.

"Take a left here." Aeris told him.

Cloud did as he was told and found himself in another section of the sector that he had never been in before. It was quite dark, which was probably why not a lot of people came through there, but as he continued walking, it gradually got lighter...and to his surprise, a whole lot prettier.

Near the entrance of the section, there were no lights, but there were two lamp posts a few feet in where no one could really see if they just peered in, and surrounding the lamp posts were...flowers, and there was more of them appearing as they continued walking. Cloud looked around the edges of the path. This had to be the nicest part of any of the slums he'd ever seen. There were bushes growing nice and healthy along the path and flowers were everywhere.

"Aeris, did you plant all these here?" Cloud asked in awe.

"Yes, I did. I couldn't stand the thought of living in such a dump...so one day I just brought some of my flowers here and let them grow with some of the soil at the church."

"It looks beautiful, even if it is the slums."

Aeris blushed, "Thank you."

While Cloud was looking around, still amazed by all the work Aeris had put into making the slums a livable place, he spotted what had to have been her house.

"Is-is that where you live?" He pointed to a large two storey house with a nice fence around it and a huge garden in the back from what he could see.

"Mmm hmm, my mother has lived here since she was little."

"It's really nice. You're lucky."

"Thank you, we should hurry and get in, before you get a cold."

After the two had walked in the front door, Aeris made sure to close it gently, making sure not to wake anyone in case they were sleeping. She then kicked off her boots on the mat and stepped into the large kitchen. Cloud unhooked his sheath from his back and the armor off his shoulder and placed the his sword on the wall and his armor on the kitchem table. He mentally took note that Aeris' intire house very brigtly colored. The kitchen was a light shade of yellow and was very roomy. It was a nice changed from most of the houses and restaurants that were just grey, or had their natural old wood color.

"Do you want anything to eat, or drink at all?" Aeris asked Cloud as she shuffled through her cupboards.

"No thanks, I'm fine." Cloud said, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Just then, the two could hear a faint shuffling coming from up the stairs and a light switched on. "Aeris...?" A voice came from the top of the stairway.

"Yeah mom, it's just me."

"Oh thank goodness, it's pretty late, I was getting worried about you. I though you had spent the night somewhere. You know I don't like you walking home alone at night! Especially with that Reno man following you around!"

Aeris smiled at Cloud and rolled her eyes, "Mom it's fine, I didn't walk home alone." she called up the stairs.

"..." Cloud could hear faint footsteps coming down the wooden stairway, "What do you mean, who brought you home?" he mother asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs and flicking on the kitchen light..

"Oh," she said surprised, "who might you be?"

"Mom," Aeris interveined, "this is Cloud. He brought me home."

Aeris' mother smiled and headed over to where Cloud was sitting and outstretched her hand to him. "I'm Elmyra, it's nice to meet you."

Cloud took her hand and simply nodded.

"Ahem...so, Cloud might I uh...might I ask why you are...half naked?" Elmyra asked, glancing at Aeris suspiciously.

Oh right, he had almost forgot...

"Well, I uh..."

"Cloud fell through the roof of the church. His shirt got torn up." Aeris interupted again, not that he minded though.

"Oh, well I still have some of my husband's old shirts upstairs. I'll go get one for you ok?" Elmyra offered.

"Thank you...that would be great."

Elmyra smiled, "Ok, well you two wait here-actually, why don't you both come on upstairs. Aeris, you can get a room ready for him."

Cloud's eyes went wide. A room? He hadn't intended on staying the night...shouldn't he be leaving? He felt like he had intruded enough.

"Uh, that won't be necessary...I should head out." He declined, standing up in his chair.

"Nonsense, it's late, you should both be getting some sleep, it's really no trouble at all." Elmyra pressed.

Cloud sighed in defeat and looked at Aeris who was grinning. He headed over to the stairs and followed Elmyra, leaving Aeris to head up straight behind him.

After they had made their way to the next floor of the house, Elmyra headed into a room, leaving Cloud and Aeris in the halway.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be intruding..." Cloud apologized

"Don't worry, it's no trouble, my mother loves having company anyway." Aeris said, her words comforting him slightly, and making him feel less guilty about staying over.

"Here you go!" Elmyra emerged from her room and tossed Cloud a plain black t-shirt which he caght with his right hand.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry if we woke you."

"Ah, don't worry about it," she waved a hand at him, "It was Aeris who woke me anyway, slamming cupboards and whatnot." Elmyra teased, giving Aeris a little push.

"Hey!" Aeris chuckled, " sorry I woke you from your nap, go back to bed "Grandma"."

Elmyra gasped, "Grandma! I don't think so young lady! I am anything BUT old...but yeah, ok I'll go back to bed haha." she surrendered and headed into her room.

"Come on Cloud, I'll show you where you can sleep." Aeris gripped his arm and dragged him through the hallway into another room.

"Here we are." She said walking into the room and heading over to the bed to turn on the lamp.

The room was actually pretty nice. Clean wooden floors, a nice rug, fluffly blankets, a window, lamp, dresser, closet. Definately above average from most places Cloud had been in the slums.

"Well, I'll leave you to get to bed then. Goodnight Cloud" Aeris said, heading out of the room.

"Goodnight Aeris." Cloud responded back before she shut the door.

Once Aeris had left, Cloud sighed and threw the shirt Elmyra had given him over his head. He then headed over to the bed and collapsed onto it. Placing his arms over his head, Cloud took into consideration just how comfy this bed was, then his thoughts wandered to Aeris...she was something. She actually made him feel...happy. No one else could really do that, and he had only known her for a few hours! Maybe it was the way she laughed, or always smiled, or her genuine courtesey that she showed towards him, either way, he liked her. Not in _that _way, atleast he didn't think he did...not yet anyways.

Sitting on her small chair in her room, in front of the mirror, Aeris was absently brushing her hair, when she was suddenly interupted.

"So..." Elmyra mused mischeiviously.

Aeris spun around in her chair and tried to hide her smile, " 'So' what, Mom?" who was she kidding. she knew what she was getting at.

Elmyra had been leaning on the doorframe, but moved off to sit on Aeris' bed. "So, it's been awhile since you brought a boyfriend home!" she giggled.

Aeris sighed and rolled her eyes, "He's not a boyfriend Mom, and I met him like 7 hours ago."

"Ah, I was just playing...he reminds me of Zack though..."

Aeris frowned, "I know...I thought that too when I first talked to him...he's a lot quieter though."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"He used to be in SOLDIER too...like him, first class."

Elmyra looked at her, surprised, "Really now? Did he know him?"

"No. He says he doesn't remember anyone by the name."

"Hmmm...that's strange. So...why'd you bring him home eh?" Elmyra asked again with her teasing tone.

Aeris narrowed her eyes at her mother, "Because it was dark by the time I fixed him up after he fell through the roof, and Reno had already come by the church looking for me so he wouldn't have been far away."

Elmyra shifted around on the bed, "Oh...sure there...I believe you..."

"Mooooooom." Aeris whined, "Come on, leave me alone."

"Well," Elmyra stood up and smoothed out her nightgown, "If _I_ had a guy save me from the turks, and walk me home with no shirt on, flaunting around his nice body...I'd totally go for it."

Aeris laughed at her, "Mom, you're terrible! Get outta here and go to bed!" She insisted, forcing her out of her room.

"Alright alright! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight mother!"

Aeris sighed and shut her door. 'Just cause she's probably right doesn't mean she has to rub it in.' she told herself while walking over to her dresser and pulling out some pyjamas to sleep in.

'Hmmm...maybe I should go see if Cloud needs anything...I didn't really ask him before I left...'

Cloud hadn't really been trying to get to sleep, he had just been laying there, caught up in a jumble of his own random thoughts...mostly of which had to do with Aeris. When he finally actually realized how much he was thinking about her, he cursed himself for getting so wound up over a girl he had just met, but he couldn't help it. After noticing that he probably wouldn't see her again after tonight, Cloud gave up on his thoughts and was ready to give into sleep, when...someone knocked at his door.

'Oh, well speak of the devil I wonder who that could be...Well there are three people in this house. Myself, Elmyra, and Aeris. Elmyra went to bed. I am laying here...Great, the minute you get her out of your head, she walks into your room...' "Come in."

Aeris slowly turned the door handle as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake her mother, but the door squeaked rather loudly dispite the fact she was moving it as slowly as she could.

"I-I didn't wake you did I?" a soft voice asked quietly.

Cloud sat up and swung his feet around off the bed, "No, you didn't, nothing to worry about."

"Ok, good." Aeris sighed and opened the door all the way, letting herself in.

'Hmph...now you're really not gonna get to sleep.' Cloud told himself while looking Aeris over. She didn't have her dress on anymore. Instead, she was wearing a pair of pink pyjama pants and a small white tank top that showed a little bit of her stomach and it had thin straps. Even in her leisure nightwear she somehow managed to look gorgeous. He also noted that her hair was down...and he liked it. Her hair was a honey brown, and it was actually quite wavy when it was down, reaching just to her elbows.

Aeris has noticed Cloud staring at her for quite some time now, as much as it flattered her, she was getting a little tired, so she cleared her throat and said what she came to say, "Um, I just wanted to know if you needed anything, I mean...I didn't really ask before...so I was just wondering..." she trailed off...he was still looking at her in a less than innocent way, but he was taking in what she said none the less.

Cloud shook his head slightly, trying to avert his gaze, "Uh, no...no I'm fine really. But, thank you for coming in here to ask me. I'm sure you're probably tired from healing me...and yourself today, you should go to sleep."

Aeris smiled and clasped her hands together behind her back, "Thanks Cloud, and if you do need anything later, don't hesitate to go and get anything." she offered cheerfully, taking into note how 'sweet' he sounded, putting her needs before his own.

Cloud nodded and brough his feet back up on to the bed, "Alright, thanks, but I'm sure I'll be fine." he assured her.

"Ok. Goodnight Cloud." she smiled and headed out the door again.

"Night."

It was weird...Cloud had many girls who had just met him and were always offering and trying to do things for him that he never needed when they 'liked' him, but everything turned out to be a hassel, or kind of irritating. He would never say anything of course, but Aeris did all this too...but she wasn't bothering him, or hasseling him, or bugging him. He guessed that was just how she naturally was, and maybe that was what was different. All the other girls had obviously put on a 'polite' act to try and get to him, but Aeris, she was just genuinely caring and giving. Cloud decided this had to have been one of the many things that made her so different from other girls, and it was one of the things that was slowly attracting him to her.

_Ok, this chapter is done, and thanks for the reviews :D . And to be honest I would have posted this without reviews anyways, because the first 1500 words of this chapter was already written, so I thought, hey! What the hell right? But I really appreciate them anyways! So once again, R&R!_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Awww IF ONLY I owned something here! But I don't:( I own nothing

A/N: _To all Ye faithful reviewers...I'll WILL slow the story down, BUT don't worry, I wasn't planning on officially putting Aeris and Cloud together any time soon...you'll have to see how it plays out, and for those of you who are expecting the FULL novelized version off the game...uh sorry but because of what I want to do with the story, that's not really gonna happen. In fact, the whole following the storyline thing probabaly won't last too much longer, you'll see what happens. After all, this is mainly a romance fic, not adventure :) (I appologize for those who were expecting something different, but I still love all your reviews anyway!)_

To tell the truth, he had actually planned on leaving during the middle of the night, or sometime in the early morning. But, something made him stay. Maybe he didn't want to feel guilty about taking her hospitality and then throwing it away. He couldn't really figure it out right now anyway, this bed was _way _to comfy to be thinking of such trivial things.

Sighing with content, Cloud reached up over his head with his arms and began to stretch. There was a nice ray of light peering through the window, telling him he slept in, not that he really cared, he could have slept in forever. It had been a while since Cloud had slept this good, but he didn't to be rude. Grumbling in disappointment, he reached down and pulled the covers off his legs and willed himself out ofbed. He didn't bother to put on his boots. Why? He didn't really know. Shouldn't he have? He was planning on leaving right? Ah well...

Cloud had left his room and jogged down the stairs, a little 'merrily' than he normally would have... 'Why in the hell am I in such a good mood? Maybe it's being in this house...with other people who were naturally just happy all the time. Yeah...that must be it...gotta be rubbing off on me...' he concluded, heading down the last few steps.

"Good morning!" Elmyra's cheery voice cut Cloud off from his thoughts. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Cloud asked, while taking a seat at the table.

"Of course. You weren't thinking about heading out with something in your stomach were you?" She answered, pacing around the kitchen, preparing the rest of the food she had been making.

'That does smell really good...maybe I should stay, after all, she is the one offering.'

"Of course I wasn't."

"That's what I thought." Elmyra said as she walked by and playfully slapped him upside the head with her oven mit. "Yes ma'am..." He pretended to sulk.

Elmyra had returned to the counter and began to grab the food and placed it on the table.

'Hmm..." Cloud pondered to himself, ' I wonder if I'll see Aeris at all after this? I'd like to. Why do I want to get to know her? This isn't like me, I never get close to girls...except for Tifa, and look how that turned out. Where is Aeris anyway?' "Hey, where's Aeris?" Cloud looked up and voiced his thoughts.

"Right here..." A sleepy voice came from the stairs.

Cloud watched as Aeris lazily made her way down the staircase, rubbing her tired eyes and yawning.

"I usually don't sleep in this late, sorry to keep you waiting." She apologized and walked over to the table. absently scratching at her stomach.

"No, it's fine. I just woke up too."

Aeris smiled and took a seat next to Cloud at the table, "Good, because I wouldn't want to be a bad hostess now would I?" She said, grabbing a piece of bacon from the plate that her mother had just set down.

"I wouldn't really worry about that, Aeris. With the feeding, taking care of me, clothing me, and sheltering sheltering me, God forbid you slept five minutes later than I did. Trust me, I think you're doing fine." Cloud assured her.

"Hey hey!" Elmyra interrupted, placing more food on the table, "What about me! I was the one who gave you clothes and is feeding you young man!"

"I'm sorry. You too." Cloud apologized, grabbing a plate and filling it with food.

When Elmyra had finished putting all the food on the table, she took off her oven mitts and tossed them on the counter and threw off her apron. She then headed back over to the table to take a seat and grabbed a plate and glass and began to eat.

"So," Elmyra began, looking at Cloud. "how did you fall through the church anyway? Where were you?" She asked. Truthfully both she and Aeris were very curious about the matter, although Aerris knew he couldn't recall what had happened, she still wondered.

"He doesn't remember." Aeris told her mother after she put down her glass of orange juice.

'Yeah, I forgot, I told her that yesterday. She told me I would remember soon enough...wait...the reactor? Avalanche? That god damn robot! Oh man!'

"No...wait." Cloud chimed in. Now that he had time to rest...it was coming back to him. "I...I think I do now...yeah...Now I remember..."

"I was with Avalanche. We were heading to the Sector 5 Reactor to blow it up. They were paying me some money to help them out. I figured I wouldn't be in Midgar much longer, so I should make some money while I can. Anyway, yeah, I remembr we were at the reactor and President Shin-Ra came, he found out we were there some how and he brought a big machine to come take us out. Ha, leave it to the President to be the laziest one there...couldn't even deal with us on his own. Well, we ended up taking apart his machine, and he had left. But...I remember, the robot blew up, and that caused the walkway we were standing on to collapse underneath us. Barret and Tifa got out of the way in time, but I was in the middle, I fell...and I guess that's when I landed through your roof.. Hmm...yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"Wait, so you're part of Avalanche?" Aeris looked at him in confusion.

"No. I was just helping out for some money, Tifa asked me to do it." Cloud replied, taking a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Tifa?" Aeris raised an eyebrow.

Cloud shrugged and didn't look up from his plate, "Yeah, I knew here when we were teenagers. After I joined Soldier, we never really talked after that."

"Oh." Aeris replied, going back to her food.

"So, do you do work for them often?" Elmyra asked.

"No," Cloud said, looking at her, "I just did those two jobs. Probably won't do any more for them either, look where it got me."

"What? Do you now enjoy our company?" Elmyra joked. Aeris' eyes remained on her plate, but she giggled slightly.

"No." Cloud blushed, "That's uh, that wasn't what I meant - I." He was interrupted by Elmyra who was laughing at him, "Ah relax," She patted him on the shoulder, "I was only kidding."

"Mmm that was good Mom, thanks." Aeris thanked her mother after she finished her breakfast.

"Yeah, thanks for breakfaast." Cloud added.

"That was no trouble, I love cooking for people." Elymra said, taking all the plates and placing them in the sink.

Aeris turned to Cloud, "You can take a shower if you want before you head out."

'These two must be the nicest people in Midgar. Offering a complete stranger care, shelter, food, clothing, and now a shower. I fell through the right church. Well, I'd do the same for Aeris if it happened to her, like I could say no to her anyway.'

"Hmmm..." Cloud scratched the back of his head. 'A shower would be nice...I'm probably still a bit dirty from yesterday.' "Sure, thanks. Where is the bathroom?"

"You can use the one upstairs, I'll get you a towel." Aeris said, getting up out of her chair and tucking it in under the table. Cloud stood up after her and followed her out of the kitchen. They entered the living room and then into a small bathroom where Aeris opened up the towel cupboard, "Here you go." She said, handing Cloud a towel.

"Thanks." He replied.

Cloud had headed upstairs and found the bathroom which was considerably larger than the one downstairs. He felt somewhat guilty for taking the larger one on Aeris. It was her house after all. 'Oh well. If she wanted it she would have taken it. I never win these kinds of arguments with her anyway.'

Cloud dimissed his guilty thought and reached into the shower and turned on the tap. After a few seconds of holding his hand under the running water and being satisfied with the temperature, he stripped of his clothes and folded them and placed them on the counter before stepping into the shower.

Cloud decided he never knew how much he needed this. He was still sore and achy all over, despite the fact that Aeris had healed him. He did take quite a fall. He placed his hands on the wall and dropped his head, letting the water soak his hair. Wow. This felt good. The hot water was stinging slightly at his sore body, but he really didn't care, he knew it would help him in the long run.

Cloud reached over on the ledge of the shower and grabbed the soap and a dry cloth to wash him self with.

'There..no I don't smell anymore. Thank god.'

He could have stayed in there forever, but he knew he couldn't so Cloud finished washing up and turned off the tap while reaching through to the other side of the shower curtain and grabbed his towel off the floor.

After he had dried himself off, Cloud put his pants and his boots on that he had taken out of the bedroom before he went into the bathroom. He then grabbed the towel and the shirt that Elmyra had given him and headed out the door.

By the time Cloud had gotten downstairs, Aeris was already sitting at the table, and seeing Cloud come down the stairs had gotten her attention.

"You know you can take that shirt with you, so you don't have to walk back without one." She told him.

Cloud blushed, "Oh...ok. Thanks." He said, throwing the shirt over his head.

"Well Mom, we should be heading out so I'll see you later ok?" Aeris told Elmyra while she grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair.

'Yeah it really is about time I leave...wait, did she just say _we?_' Cloud stood on the bottom stairs, confused. "We?"

Aeris turned to face him, "Yes," she smiled, "I'm going with you."

Cloud tilted his head. "Um, why?"

Aeris placed her hands on her hips, "What? You don't want me with you?"

Cloud raised his hands in defence, "No! I mean - no, I just, well, you're back home and you have Turks chasing you...why would you want to come with me?"

Aeris smiled at him and walked into the living room quickly where he couldn't see her, then came back out with a small basket of flowers. "I do have to make money you know? So, I figured since you're leaving anyways, we both might as well keep each other company."

Cloud walked off the stairs and over the the corner near the door where he had placed his sword, "That does make sense." he stated simply as he grabbed his sword and flung it over his back.

"Good." Aeris said proudly, holding her head up high, "Then _we _should get going? I'm sure your friends will be glad to know you're alright."

Cloud tried to supress a laugh, "Not really friends...just employers." God, he couldn't stand Barret for long periods of time. The only way he'd be able to call him a friend, is if he sat through his non-stop cursing, whining, and yelling at once for a long period of time so that his brain would then become fully immune to it and he learned to tune it out with happy thoughts. But he didn't want to go through all that work. Other than that, Barret was an ok guy though. And he didn't really know Jessie, Biggs or Wedge, and Tifa...Well, as much as Cloud liked Tifa...ever since he came back she acted very protective and clingy...something was different, and he didn't like it.

"Come, on, we should head out." he said, interrupting his own thoughts and opening the front door. "Thanks again." He added and waved goodbye to Elmyra as Aeris started to follow him out the door.

"You two be careful! I don't want you two getting into fights, you'll get dirty again! You just had showers!" She called to them just as the door was closing.

"Well, that's my mother for you." Aeris said rolling her eyes after they had began walking through the yard.

"Hey, atleast she cares right?"

Aeris laughed, "Yeah, that's true." then she looked up, "Cloud?" she asked. Cloud turned his head and made eye contact with her, "What are you going to do after you get your money? You said you weren't going to be in Midgar for long right? So where are you going to go?" Cloud was surprised, she almost sounded sad. 'Why would she be sad? You're an idiot, just stop thinking stupid things and answer her question, moron.'

"I don't really know. But anything is better than staying in this shithole."

"Hey!" Aeris punched his arm playfully and smiled, "I _live _in this shithole thank you very much!"

Cloud looked at her, "Except for your house. I like your house." he stated. It was the truth though, every slum in Midgar was not a pretty sight, but Aeris' house was so cozy and welcoming.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Aeris said truimphantly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, is that so?" Cloud mused, "You think you scare me?"

"Pfff, look at me, " Aeris stopped on the pathway and pointed to herself, "Who _wouldn't _be terrified of this?" she joked. "I can totally take you on!"

Cloud stopped in front of her and raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe it is Mr. Soldier...maybe it is."

"Hey," Cloud folded his arms over his chest and looked away to the side, "That would be Ex-Sol-whoa!" he was cut off by Aeris 'attempting' to take a swing at him while his guard was down, but he caught her hand just in time. Cloud took her captive arm and swung it around so it was up against her back. He then grabbed her free arm with his free hand and put it in the same position and held both her hands with one of his. Truthfully, they both knew if she had actually hit him, it wouldn't have done any damage, so he didn't really care. Cloud wrapped his right arm around the front of her shoulders and pulled her so her back was against his chest. "Not fast enough." he whispered teasingly to her.

Ah! She didn't like when he did that! Everytime his face got anywhere _near _her neck, it caused her to shiver and get goosebumps, not to mention her entire body was pulled right snug against his. "Are you done yet?" he asked her. Aeris frowned, "...Yes." She answered, admitting defeat. Although she knew it would have been interesting if they had continued...but Aeris thought it was about time Cloud informed his 'friends' that he was alive.

Cloud released her and smoothed out his clothes. "Well, now we should really be going." he said, watching Aeris pick up her basket that she had dropped. "Yeah, you're right."

The two had walked on for minutes aimlessly talking about random things that came up during conversation. Cloud was never much for talking, but he enjoyed talking with Aeris, and he didn't have the slightest idea why. "And then when-oh!" Aeris stopped in mid sentence and looked around, "We're almost in Sector 7. This is the playground I used to play in when I was little before it got completely trashed." she told him.

Cloud stopped and took a good look at the 'park'. Yep, it was a big heap alright. He watched as Aeris took everything in. "Wow. I remember all this. I haven't been here in years...but...I shouldn't be keeping you from getting back. Come on, we should go."

"If you want."

Aeris turned back to face him and smiled, "Yeah, lets go, it doesn't matter, this place is wrecked anyway." Cloud nodded and they headed through the broken down wall just ahead of them that led to the 7th sector.

"So where exactly are we headed anyway?" Aeris asked as they reached the main intersection of the sector.

"A bar." Cloud answered simply.

"A bar?"

"Yeah." He turned to her. "Tifa's bar. It's where Avalanche's hideout is."

"Oh, well do you think they'll be there?"

"I think so...why wouldn't they be, unless they went out on another mission." Cloud said as the two rounded the next corner and walked up a new pathway that broke off into a few sections that led to small areas of the sector.

He directed Aeris to the area on the far left of the pathways and they entered a small branch of the sector with a few buildings. Cloud recognized the restaurant that he had been to yesterday and the larger three-storey building across from it. Just ahead of them was Seventh Heaven.

"This it?" Aeris questioned while they walked up the wooden steps onto the small deck.

"Yeah...seems a little quiet though." Cloud said, reaching for the doorhandle.

"Well, " Aeris started, "They do think that you might be dead. It would be quite considerate of them to take a day off and remember you."

Cloud let out a small laugh, "Doubt it." he twisted the small doorknob to find that it didn't open and let out a sigh. "Locked."

Aeris tilted her head to the side, "No one is here at all?"

Cloud bit his lip, "...I don't think so...if they left for a job, which is probably what they did seeing as how they're all not here, they wouldn't take Marlene. She's probably in there."

He knocked on the door. No answer. He tried again. Still no answer. Cloud sighed, "Marlene?" he called loud enough so that if she was in there she could hear him, "Marlene, it's me, Cloud. Are you in there?" he tried to sound as inviting as he could. After the last time she saw him, she was scared of him for some reason. Cloud gave the door another knock, this time he heard something.

The faint sound of shuffling could be heard from within the building and it was getting closer. Aeris and Cloud watched as the doorknob jiggled slightly. The door then opened up slightly, revealing a small crack.

"...Hello?" a small voice called out.

Cloud smiled and forced the door the rest of the way open to reveal Marlene, looking a little scared, "I thought you were in there."

At the sight of him. her eyes went wide with surprise and relief, "Cloud!" she immediately wrapped her small arms around his legs, "Everybody said you were gone and never coming back!"

"Oh yeah?" he asked, amused, "And who said that?"

Marlene looked up at him, "Tifa, and Papa. Tifa said you were gone. Then I said forever? And then she said yes, but I didn't believe her cause why would you go away forever without saying goodbye and then never ever come back never again!" she finished, out of breath, then glanced toward Aeris. "Who's that?" she asked curiously.

Aeris kneeled down beside Marlene and smiled, "I'm Aeris."

Marlene let go of Cloud's legs. Aeris gasped slightly in surprise when Marlene practically jumed on her and gave her a huge hug. "Thank you for bringing back Cloud. I didn't want him to go away without giving him something back because he gave me a flower yesterday."

"Oh, well..." Aeris reached behind her and into her basket of flowers, "You, can have another one if you want." She said.

Marlene pulled away and looked at the flower Aeris had given to her, "Thank you!" she said politely, then leaned in and whispered something in her ear, "I know what I'm gonna do with it. I'm going to give it to Cloud for a present 'cause he gave me one."

Aeris laughed, "Ok. I'm sure he'll enjoy it." she assured her and stood back up.

Marlene walked back over to Cloud who had alreayd headed inside the bar. She tugged on the back of his pants, "Huh?" he turned around. Marlene smiled at him and extended the flower out to him. "Here you go! This is for you because you gave me one. Now you have one from me."

Cloud reached down and took the flower out of her hand, "Thanks Marlene." he then began to look around. There really was no one here...at all. "Marlene?" he started while Aeris made her way inside, shutting the door behind her. "Where is everyone?"

Marlene went over to the bar and hopped on a stool and began to absently spin around on it. "They went to Walmarket cause Papa said something about some Don guy knowing things about Shin-Ra. He said they had to pay for what happened yesterday, so they went to go ask him stuff."

Cloud dropped his head, he really didn't want to go chase after them. They could be anywhere. "When did they leave?" he asked,

"Early this morning. Tifa said I _had _to wake up cause they were all leaving and needed me to watch everything. It was just getting light out when they left.

'Damnit!' Cloud thought. 'If I actually had've left sometime early this morning or last night, I could have been here before they left, or atleast crossed paths with them. Oh well, I guess they shouldn't be too long then...unless...they headed to another reactor? No way...still...I should look around.'

"Ok, Aeris, we should head out to the other entrance of the sector, there's a tower near the base of the plate, they should come by there if they went to the top of the city, and don't worry, there's usually a few people there, you can sell your flowers there." he told her.

"You're leaving?" Marlene asked.

Cloud nodded, "Yeah I have to find everyone, tell them I'm alright, and you know, make sure they stay out of trouble. Don't worry." he assured her as he and Aeris headed out the door.

ok this was shorter than my last ones, and boring too, but i couldn't just skip it all. AND I'm sorry for not putting in the walmarket scene but i couldn't because then the timing wouldn't have made sense. But! I hope you guys review anyway and I'll try to update soon cause the next chpater will be where it starts to take a completely diffrent direction form the game.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, I'm not that cool.

This will probably be the last, if not, second last chapter to loosely follow the original story line, after that, we'll see what happens, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

Cloud and Aeris had left Seventh Heaven after Cloud had made sure everything was locked and that Marlene would be ok while she was alone. He wasn't sure when the others were coming back, and he also didn't know if he was coming back here at all.

"So, where are we headed to now then?" Aeris asked.

"There's a big intersection in this sector. It leads to here, and two other sectors, oh and the pillar."

Cloud had figured by now, the Shin-Ra were planning something against Avalanche. The President wasn't one to get his reactors blown up and then let the perpetrators escape without any kind of revenge what so ever. It was entirely possible that something had already happened to them, and if not, something probably would in the near future. That, Cloud was sure of. Maybe that was the reason why he wanted to find everyone so badly.

If only he hadn't agreed on taking those missions for Tifa, then he wouldn't be stuck worrying about some people he hardly knew...'Then again...' he thought, 'If I had never agreed, I wouldn't have met Aeris.' Cloud slowly tilted his head to the left to look at her. Before her, he had never really had any female friends, besides Tifa. But that was when he was little. Now, he never hung out with girls...let alone people in general. He wasn't really the smoothest person in the world to talk to when women first talked to him. But, he found it so easy to communicate with Aeris. Maybe because he wasn't scared of trying to impress her...although sometimes he felt like he should be for some reason.

Cloud heard Aeris let out a small sigh beside him, making all the thoughts running around in his head go away.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Aeris turned to him a little surprised.

"Oh? Oh, nothing." she giggled, "It's just we've been walking for a while and none of us has really said anything."

'We have?' Cloud thought. He looked around. Now that he thought about it. They _had _been walking for quite a while. The road that lead to the bar was completely out of sight. They had already passed the three-way fork in the road, and come to think of it, Cloud realized that they were only about a five minute walk from where they were headed.

"Well, atleast we're almost there." He said.

"Are we?"

"Yeah, actually, I can see the intersection now." Cloud pointed ahead of them.

The two were then stopped dead in their tracks when a very loud noise could be heard off in the distance.

"Wh-what was that?" Aeris asked.

There was another crack in the air, and some screaming.

"A gun shot." Cloud said before taking off a few feet to get a closer look at what was goin on. Aeris was still a little stunned but followed close behind him.

Cloud stopped running as soon as he reached the intersection. "There are people up on the pillar...I think that's.." he squinted his eyes and looked up, "Barret. What they hell are they doing up there? With all those...wait who are they?"

"There are Turks up there. I can see them." Aeris answered.

Cloud turned to face her, a sudden shock of realization on his face, "I think they're going to knock down the pillar."

"What? Why!"

"Shin-Ra, they must have been looking for them. And instead of going through the trouble of looking around and asking, they're gonna save themselves some time and just take out the whole sector in payment for the two reactors we blew up."

Aeris didn't say anything, she just stood there with her mouth hung open.

"Aeris. I need you to do something." Cloud told her. She swallowed and nodded.

"Ok, I need you to run as fast as you can back to the bar. Take Marlene and bring her somwhere safe. Tell as many people to leave as you can while you're on your way, but you make sure that you and Marlene get out."

"Ok." Aeris obliged. She turned to take off, when she felt Cloud grip her arm. She turned, "There are Turks all over the sector. If they see you, they'll take you. I want you to keep a look our for yourself, hide if you have to."

"Don't worry, I will." she gave him a reassuring smile and took off in the other direction.

Cloud wasted no time and dashed off toward the pillar. A few people were still gathered around it, watching what was happening. Gunfire was still constantly being fired off. 'I have to get up there.' Cloud brushed past a few people and opened the fence that surrounded the pillar, but he stopped when he heard screaming and looked up. 'Oh no...' Someone was falling, and in an instant hit the ground with a sickening thud. Cloud immediately sped over to the young man who had fallen off the pillar. He quickly recognized him as Wedge.

"Wedge! Are you alright?" Cloud asked, panicked.

Wedge cracked open an eye and stifled a laugh, "Heh, you...remembered my name."

"Of course I did..."

Wedge laid his head on the ground and sighed shakily, "You better get up there..."

Cloud bit his lip. He knew he was right, but he didn't want to just leave Wedge there...

"I..know but..you?"

"Don't worry, just go man, I'll be ok."

Cloud nodded and picked himself up off the ground and bolted up the flight of stairs that led to the top of the pillar.

"If you would just cooperate with us we wouldn't have to hurt anyone else!"

"That's a lie an' you damn well know it!" Barret fired another round on his machine gun, successfully taking out two more guards that were trying to negotiate with him, although anyone could see that whether they surrendered or not the Shin-Ra would knock the pillar down anyway.

"Barret!" Cloud had reached the top of the pillar after some painful encounters with Jessie and Biggs. Three members of Avalance was enough casualties...he couldn't lose Barret and Tifa now. All that mattered now was getting themselves and as many people out of the sector as he could. Cloud knew Aeris had to be almost out by now. There wasn't anything that would stop her...except for the Turks, and it was clear they wanted her alive, so even if she hadn't made it out, they would have brought her out themselves.

"Cloud? Where'd you come from!" Barret looked shocked, and for a minute, actually forgot about the guards that were advancing on them.

"Cloud! You're alive!" Tifa ran towards him, overjoyed that he was alright.

"I-yeah! I'm fine!" he yelled over more of Barret's gunifre, "We have to get out of here! There'll be too many guards showing up! They're prepared for us, we have to go!"

Tifa nodded and ran over to Barret, "Come on! We gotta go!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm.

"Arg! No way! We can beat these guys! And we can't just let them destroy the whole sector!"

"Barret! There are thousands more Soldiers than there are Avalanche members! We can't win this one! Even if they kill us, they'll still knock down the pillar! We should get out of here while we can!"

Barret continued to fire at the three remaining guards on the tower who were beginning to circle him, but he was definately starting to agree with Tifa. "Oh, fine!" he said, after a few moments, "Let's get outta here!"

The three of them had began running toward the stairs of the tower when a loud noise could be heard. Approaching in the distance was a helicoptor...a Shin-Ra one no doubt. Someone had come to finish the job. They had to get out of there quick.

"Come on, we have to move fast!" Cloud ordered. Barret and Tifa rushed down the stairway ahead of him when Barret suddenly stopped, "Marlene! She's still at the bar!"

"No she's not!" Cloud called back to him.

"Whatdya mean she's not there?" Barret hollered.

"She's out of the sector and safe! What more do you want now let's go!"

Barret shook his head and mumbled something incoherent and started back down the stairs again.

:_not too long ago_:

Aeris ran as fast as she could. She turned back only for a moment to see Cloud making his way to the pillar. It was a good thing the bar wasn't far from where she was, she was sure she could remember the way without any problem too.

Aeris had made it to the familiar three way fork in the road where she saw some people walking around, giving her quizical looks, then she remembered what Cloud said, to try and get as many people out, "Hey!" She called to them, while still running, "Shin-Ra is going to knock the pillar down! Everyone get outta here!"

The people stood there, looking at the frantic girl disappear off into the next section of the sector before what she had told them really kicked in. The area was suddenly filled with screams and running people, trying to gather their things and get out as soon as possible.

Aeris' lungs were starting to burn and her legs were starting to get a little tired, but she couldn't stop for a break yet, not now. She couldn't be sure of how much time she had. All she was focused on was the poor innocent girl in the bar...and the rest of the sector who were all in danger. So she kept running.

After what seemed like an eternity, Aeris finally reached the small section of the sector that she had been waiting for. She stumbled up the wooden steps of the bar and banged on the door, and like before, no one answered. Aeris swallowed and caught her breath before banging on the door again, "Marlene!" she yelled, "It's me, Aeris, you...you have to open the door."

She closed her eyes and waited for a moment, 'Come on...just open the door...'

A sudden obvious noise caused Aeris to open her eyes and look toward the bar. There, standing before her was none other than Marlene, smiling at her. "Hi Aeris." she greeted happily.

"Marlene," Aeris bent down and placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders, "There's something wrong, and you have to trust me on this, but we have to leave now. We have to get out of the sector as fast as we can."

Marlene's expression tunred for joy to frightened, "W-what about my papa, and Tifa...and where did Cloud go?"

"I promise I'll tell you after we leave, but we _really _need to get out of here, please?"

Marlene nodded and Aeris sighed a breath of relief and grabbed onto the child's hand as they began to run away from the bar and through the panicing sector.

Aeris was beginning to sweat, they had been running for too long and she could feel Marlene tiring quickly as she struggled to keep up, not letting go of her hand.

"We're almost there Marlene, don't...worry, we'll be out of here in no time." Aeris said, out of breath as she took a quick right at one of the intersections.

There. She could see it now, the playground she had been in with Cloud no less than a few hours ago. Aeris slowed down a tiny bit as the exit to Sector 7 became closer. Oh how she was relieved that they would be safe. There was no doubt in her mind that the sector would be going down. She knew, and she knew Cloud knew that this was a planned attack, and a few members of Avalanche were definately not enough to stop the whole army of Solders.

"Ok..." Aeris stopped running and took in a huge breath once they had entered the playground, "We're safe now..."

Marlene had both hands on her knees and was taking in air frantically, "Aeris...will you tell me...what happened...now?" She choked out in between breaths.

Aeris made eye contact with her and nodded, but froze when she heard something...a voice. She didn't know who it belonged to, but something Cloud had said made her uneasy. right now, there was chaos...everybody was in a panic...now would be a prefect time for the Turks to get her. Without thinking, Aeris grabbed Marlene's hand and pulled her under the safety of an old slide so no one could see them.

"Hey!" Marlene protested, "What was that for?" she was stopped by Aeris placing a hand over her mouth.

"Marlene...I just realized...there might be dangerous people around...and I don't want us to get caught so we have to be quiet and stay hidden until we get to my house ok?" she whispered. Marlene nodded as they both heard the voice get closer.

Aeris prayed it was just some random person making their way from Wall Market so they could get out of there...but as footsteps approached, she knew she was wrong.

"She better be here this time! Or the boss is gonna kill me!" came the unmistakable voice of none other than Reno.

"She's not in Sector 7 or the church Sir, she must be back home." one of the Soldiers replied.

"Yeah, she better be..."

Aeris shuffled around quietly and pressed her eye to a small crack in the slide and watched as Reno walked out of the play ground and headed to her house. After seeing him fully disappear, she turned to Marlene, "Ok we have to follow them...but very quietly ok?"

"O-ok..." Marlene agreed as they crawled our form under the play structure.

"Ok now, we have to go very slowly...and stay behind all the rubble, so they can't see us." Aeris instructed, dusting off her dress.

"So, what if she ain't here?"

"Then..." Reno gritted his teeth, "I'll be very upset."

Aeris swallowed at Reno's comment. She and Marlene were currently about fifty feet away from the Turk and his guards, hiding behind a large pile of rubble that looked like it used to be a wall of some sort. She hoped that when Reno didn't find her in her house that he wouldn't do anything to her mother...

After Aeris watched Reno walk into the small area where her house was, she quietly led Marlene out from behind the broken down wall and slowly crept up after them. Although she knew they had no reason to come back this way, and they were being very quiet, she couldn't help but start to sweat and her heart was racing. If they caught her that would be it, and who knows what they'd do with Marlene.

Aeris gripped Marlene's hand tightly as they tip toed as silently over the gravel as they could, trying not to make a sound. After they had passed through the last wall and into Aeris' property, the two quickly ducked behind the nearest bush. Aeris decided they would wait there until Reno came back. She could still hear his voice, but it was getting more distant as he neared her house...

Elmyra had been running around the house non-stop all morning, busying herself by cleaning the house, which was already spotless. She had just done it too keep her mind off Aeris, like she did everyday. Elmyra _hated _when she left the house to go sell flowers. Sure, today Cloud was with her, but she knew Aeris had just been walking him back to his friend's place and then she would be on her way. It was much too dangerous for a young woman to be roaming around the slums all alone! Especially one with Turks following her everywhere.

Elmyra sighed and continued washing up the rest of her lunch dishes. She had just finished drying off her hands when she heard a sudden knock at the door. 'Who would be wandering over here?'

She dropped her cloth on the counter and removed her apron and headed toward the front door. Without even checking who it was, Elmyra opened the door and gasped.

"Good day ma'am." Reno greeted her as he leant up against the doorframe.

Elmyra inhaled deeply, but kept her cool, "What would you like...Reno? Is it?"

Reno looked down and scratched the top of his nose and sighed. He then looked up to face Elmyra and smirked, "I think you know what I'm here for."

Elmyra crossed her arms and looked at him, "If you're here for Aeris she's not here. Dont go looking for her either! What do you want with her? She's never done anything to you!"

"Sorry, that would be confidential Shin-Ra business, and as for if she's here or not, I'll have to see for myself." Reno remarked, easily brushing past Elmyra and into the house.

"Hey! Get out of my house!" she demanded, but neither Reno or the guards listened.

"Listen lady, if you just let me take her then you won't have to worry about us bothering you ever again."

Elmyra put on a disgusted face, "Yeah, right, like I'm just going to hand my own daughter over to Shin-Ra! And she's isn't even here! I don't know where she is!"

Reno chuckled and walked over to the stairs, "It wouldn't be wise of you to lie to me you know."

Elmyra turned her head in confusion, "I'm not lying, I told you I don't know where she is."

"No no, not about that, " he shook his head, "I mean, don't try and convince me that she's your daughter."

"H-how do you?"

"Please, if she really was your daughter, we wouldn't be looking for her in the first place." Reno answered and ran up the stairs.

Aeris and Marlene had been waiting in the same bush for a good ten minutes. Aeris was shaking and still breathing heavily. She continuously fiddled with her hands to try and occupy herself or something, but she couldn't help but worry about her mother. Reno had come to the house only once since he had been after her and he hadn't even been particularily rude to Elmyra or anything...but that was a long time ago and no doubt he was fed up with looking for her. Who knows what he'd do now.

"I'm going to ask you one last time. Where is she?" Reno threatened, advancing in on Elmyra who was seated at the kitchen table.

She bit her lip and looked sternly at the Turk, "I told you. I don't know."

Reno looked up at the ceiling and shook his head in frustration, "So. You're telling me..that she leaves every single day and doesn't tell you where she's headed? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes. Except she used to tell me if she was going to the church, but apparently you know about that too, so other than that, I have no idea where she is. And it's for this reason that she never tells me! So I have nothing to tell you!"

Reno placed and hand in his pocket and shifted his weight onto one leg and thought, "Hmmm, I'll believe that." he laughed, "Your pain in the ass "daughter" has avoided me this long, she wouldn't be stupid enough to tell anyone where she is now would she?"

"Exactly. Now would you please do me a favor and get out of my house?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm going, but if I have to come back her again, I won't be so uh..."polite" next time." Reno gave her a wink and slammed the door shut.

Elmyra tilted her head bak in her chair and sighed with relief. 'Good god, what exactly has that girl done to get herself into this...maybe it would be better if we left Midgar..."

"Sir?"

"Sir?"

"What!"

"Maybe...maybe the girl is over in the-" "She's not ANYWHERE! We've checked every single fucking sector and the church twice today! This is pissing me off! I swear, I don't care what the President says, the next time I see her and she tries to run, I'll take her down. Come on. We have to move faster, we gotta get to the pillar and take that thing out already."

Marlene ducked as deep into the leaves as possible while Reno and his guards sped by them. Aeris did the same and held on to Marlene as tight as she could. For the first time, she was actually very afraid of Reno. She had pushed him ot the edge and he wasn't going to go easy on her anymore. 'Oh, I wish Cloud was here, to help me again...wait, why do I need him here? I've fended for myself all these years right? Why do I need him now?' Aeris questioned herself. It was strange how she felt so much more secure and safe with him, but it wasn't fair to want him to protect her all the time. She was interupted by Marlene tugging on her dress.

"Aeris," she whispered, "Can we go now? They're gone."

Aeris smiled and nodded. She could tell Marlene was still quite frightened. After all the had just avoided the Turks, and fled all of Sector 7 because it was soon to come crashing down. She needed to get the poor child into her house soon.

"Come on Marlene." Aeris placed her own hand in hers and helped her stand up. Even though the Turks were now gone, they both felt more comfortable sprinting the rest of the way to Aeris' house.

"Mom!" Aeris yelled as she opened the door and let her and Marlene in. Within seconds, Elmyra was bounding down the stairs and ran up to Aeris and engulfed her in a huge hug. "Oh my god! I'm so glad you're alright! Aeris I think you've really pissed that guy off this time."

"Yeah, no kidding." she muffled, slightly out of breath from the tight hug her mother had her in.

Marlene had still been standing in the entrance, she felt kind of akward right now, so she kept her hands behind her back and stayed silent. It was when Elmyra finally pulled away from Aeris and looked just behind her, "Oh! Who's this?" She said excitedly, brushing past Aeris without a second thought.

Aeris turned around and placed her hands on her hips, "That's Marlene, she's one of Cloud's friend's daughter. I brought her here because-oh! I almost forgot!" Aeris suddenly realized why indeed she had brought Marlene all the way here. "Mom, they're planning to knock down the pillar to Sector 7!"

Emlyra looked at her, shocked, "W-what! You mean Avalanche?"

Aeris shook her head, "No! Mom? What? Come on? Shin-Ra!"

"Oh. Oh! But why?"

Aeris clasped her hands together and took a seat at the table, this day had been too much for her already, "...They wanted to get back at Avanlanche."

Elmyra looked at her and frowned, "I thought so," she headed towards the table and sat with Aeris, "I knew blowing up Shin-Ra reactors wouldn't be a good idea." she half chuckled.

"Yeah... no kidding." Aeris agreed, motioning for Marlene to come sit with them. Marlene looked a little hesitant, and still a little sad, after all she didn't know where her father was, but she went over to Aeris anyway and hopped up on her lap.

"So, I take it Cloud is over there trying to stop the pillar from falling?" Elmyra assumed.

"I think he's just trying to get Avalanche out of there..."

"So, you don't know if he's coming back?"

"Well," Aeris shifted in her seat, "He was the one who told me to bring Marlene somwhere safe, so if he's alright, he should show up here eventually. He better be alright..."

The sound of the helicopor could now be heard throughout the whole area of the Sector.

"Hey! Where the hell are you takin' us!" Barret yelled, out of breath to Cloud, who was running in front of them leading the way.

"Sector 5. I think Marlene is there."

"How would she get there?" Tifa asked.

"Aeris."

"Who?"

"Just, someone! Don't worry about it! Keep running, the helicoptor has almost landed!"

"Did you get her this time"

"...No. Couldn't find her anywhere."

"Reno, you're excessive failure is quite upsetting. How hard is it to nab one girl."

Reno clenched a fist and held his phone away from himself for a moment before answering, letting his temper die down, "Apparently, Sir, harder than I expected."

"One more chance Reno. One more. Take out the sector and get back to Headquarters."

Reno heard the phone hang up on the other end. He took his own phone away from his ear and flicked it shut. "Fuck." he muttered under his breath and buried his hands in his hair, letting his elbows rest on his knees.

"Sir?"

Reno looked up quickly.

"We're here."

"Good," he stood up, "Let's put a stop to Avalanche, they won't be getting in our way again."

The helicoptor landed on the top of the pillar. Reno ducked his head and stepped out. Gunfire could be head all around the tower, but he decided to ignore it. He stepped down the stairs of the coptor and casually walked over to a large panel in the center of the pillar. reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small card and inserted it into the panel, then typed in a few numbers until the panel screen said "Time?" 'Hmmm...how long...let's see, we'll go for 3 minutes, we should be able to get outta here by then.' Reno smirked and set the timer for three minutes. After he was done, he removed his card and jogged back to the helicoptor.

"Let's go! Quick, we gotta get outta here in 3!" He called to the pilot.

"Roger Sir."

"Cloud...how..much further?" Tifa gasped.

"Not far, just another minute...I can just barely see the entrance..."

"We better be outta here on time or I'm gonna kick your skinny ass from here to the moon!"

Cloud turned his head to see Barret running behind him and smirked, "Oh yeah, you gonna kick my ass when we're dead?"

"You're damn right I will."

"Ha, well don't worry about it, cause there's the exit." Cloud pointed just in front of them.

"How much more time do we have Sir?"

Reno glanced at his watch and looked up, "Bout' 50 seconds."

"Sir, should we really have blown up the entire sector? I mean we had reports that three out of the six members of Avalanche had already been terminated. Was it really necessary?" one Soldier asked.

Reno glared at him, "Are you questioning the President's order Soldier?"

"I-no Sir I was just wondering-"

"Good, then leave it at that and keep your mouth shut."

"So..." Barret panted, "We in the clear...or what?"

The small group had made it into the playground that Cloud was in earlier that day. and had been able to take a rest, when Cloud thought of something, "That's a pretty big entrance...shit."

"What?" Tifa asked. We're out of the sector.

"Yeah...but...there's gonna be a hell of a lot of debris coming through that hole, we have to get out of here too!"

Cloud grabbed onto Tifa and Barret's arms and dragged them out of the area and fast as he could, fortunately for them, they made it out of the play ground just in time, as the bomb on the pillar suddenly set off and crumbled the pillar, taking the plate with it. The whole sector had undoubtedly turned to rubble and pieces of cement and metal were hurled through the entrance to Sector 5. The three Avalanche members had to throw themselves to the ground to avoid being hit by anything.

When it was all over, Cloud stood up first and dusted himself off. "Whew...that was fucking close..."

Barret was next to stand up and looked around, "Damn, that was lucky...but...Biggs, Wedge, Jessie...all of em' dead, cause of me." he dropped his head.

Tifa got up and alked over to Barret and placed a hand on his shoulder, "...Barret, it's not your fault. don't worry. It's Shin-Ra's fault. But...I think we need to get out of here...Marlene is waiting for you."

Barret looked up, "Marlene...she better be okay. Lead the way Cloud."

Cloud nodded and headed off towards Aeris' house.

"Aeris...I miss Papa."

Aeris looked down at Marlene who was sitting on her couch, "Oh, Marlene, I'm sure he's fine." Oh how she hoped what she was saying was true, she'd hate to see what would happen to Marlene if he never came back. Hell, what if Cloud never came back? Sure she'd only known him for a total of two days, but Aeris already felt like she'd known him for her whole life.

Aeris climbed up on the couch with Marlene, they had been down in the basement the whole time. Just sitting and talking. They were, however, interupted by Elmyra who called to them from upstairs.

"Aeris! Marlene! Come up here!"

Marlene's head shot up immediately and looked at Aeris with an anxious expression on her face before bolting off the couch and up the stairs as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Papa!" she scremed while running into Barret's arms.

"Marlene! I'm so glad you're okay! Sorry I left you in the bar, I didn't know what was gonna happen!"

"Papa it's ok, you didn't know." Marlene cuddled her head into his shoulder.

Barret, Tifa and Cloud had walked a good fifteen minutes nice and slowly to Aeris' house, they were all wiped out from the run and it was almost 5 O'clock by the time they had arrived. Elmyra had let them in and called Marlene up immediately.

Aeris was now just emerging from the basement as she saw Marlene hop from Barret's arms and into a nearby woman's. Someone whom she hadn't seen, but she guessed it was Tifa. She walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb the reunion, but Cloud had noticed her.

"Aeris!" he walked quickly toward her and without hesitation, wrapped his arms around her. Aeris, who was quite surprised, and could see that Barret, and more so, Tifa were as well, but she graciously hugged him back. "Thank you." he whispered into her neck, "Without you, Marlene would have been gone."

"I-your welcome." she blushed. Cloud pulled away from her and held her by the shoulders and glanced back at Barret, "Barret, this is Aeris." he let his arms drop.

Barret smiled and walked through the kitchen and put a hand out, Aeris looked at his hand and shook it with her own, "Nice to meet you." she smiled politely.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for savin' Marlene. I owe you a lot. You ever need anything, want someone's ass kicked or somethin' I'll do it." Aeris giggled, she still felt akward though...she knew Tifa had her eye on her, and she knew just the reason why. So, she walked up to her and extended her hand, anything to break the tension, "You must be Tifa. Cloud told me about you."

Tifa looked taken back, back accepted Aeris' hand, "I-yeah, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you to." 'Whew, good thing she doesn't hate me or anything.' Aeris thought.

"Uhh, sorry to break anything up but, I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinkin' we gotta kick some Shin-Ra ass to make them pay for what they did! You with me guys?" Barret spoke. Tifa nodded along with him in agreement. "Cloud? How bout' you?"

Cloud simply folded his arms and shook his head 'no'.

Barret stared at him in shock, "Whadya mean "no"! Look what those bastards did! Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and the rest of the sector! They didn't deserve that!" He yelled furiously.

"I know that Barret, but look why they did it. We blew up their fucking reactors." Cloud said coldly, "We go after them again, expecially with only three of us and we're all dead, and now that we've interacted with both Elmyra and Aeris, they could be in danger too if we pulled anything off. It would be different if Biggs and Wedge and Jessie were still alive, and captured or soemthing, but there's nothing we can do about it now. You can go if you want. But I'm not coming with you."

After a long few minutes of yelling and arguing, Aeris had suggested that everyone just stay the night, and head off to bed. Cloud happliy obliged and headed straight up the stairs and let himself into the spare bedroom. He'd figure out what he was going to do tomorrow, but for now, he needed some sleep.

A/N: And there you go, sorry that took WAY too long, but I really didn;t want to write the first half of this chapter, so that part moves kinda fast. Sooooo sorry about that, but now everyting is going to go in a different direction, hope you guys don't mind. And thanks SO much for the reviews, you guys are cool in my book! I hope to have the next chapter up soon. And I hope you guys don't throw crap at me for the lack of action in this fic, if that's what you were lookin' for go somewhere else! Or just stay, either one :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything up in here!

A/N: Alrighty! From here on, I'm gonna be pulling this entire story out of my ass, now doesn't that feel reassuring? Truth is I don't really have anything really planned form this point on, but who doesn't mind a little improv now and then eh? On with the show!

* * *

Cloud had been pacing around the room for the last half hour. He had been totally exhausted when he first arrived but after a few fuming arguments with Barret and Tifa, his blood was boiling and his adrenaline was way up. There was no way he was getting to sleep now, he just used being tired as an excuse to get away from them. 

He had removed his boots and armor long ago so as not to create any noises that would make everyone think he was awake, but after a long while of overthinking, finally, Cloud gave up and wiped his face with his hands in frustration. He was still wondering if he was doing the right thing by not going with Barret and Tifa, or being a jerk for not helping them with their revenge. Deciding that this whole thing could wait until tomorrow, Cloud reached a hand behind his back and swiftly pulled off his top and tossed it on the floor.

As soon as he let himself fall into the bed, Cloud realized that he was indeed, tired and happily gave into the feeling of his body going into a state of total relaxation.

* * *

"Come on Papa! Let's go." Marlene begged, grabbing onto Barret's wrist and trying to pull him downstairs. 

"Awright, awright, I'm comin' hold yer horses."

"But I'm sleepy, I wanna go back on the couch."

Barret sighed, "Well, thanks for lettin' us stay here. We'd have nowhere to go if it wasn't for you's guys."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I love company anyway." Elmyra explained, "Go ahead to bed, you guys must be tired."

Barret scratched the back of his head, "Well, I am pretty tired, so's Marlene, so we should be gettin to bed. We'll just unfold the couch."

"Goodnight you guys." Aeris said as Marlene dragged Barret down the stairs, "Night!" he called back up.

"So, girls," Elmyra folded her hands, "are we going to bed or are we staying up?"

"Well," Aeris yawned, streatching her arms over her head, "I'm pretty tired, how about you?" she glanced toward Tifa.

"Oh...well, I am pretty tired, you sure you have enough room for me, I mean I can -"

"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't kick you out," Aeris laughed, "You can stay in my room, I'll just bunk with my mom."

Tifa smiled, "I can always just take the couch in the living room you know? I don't have to take your bed on you."

"Nah," Aeris brushed her off, "Don't worry about it, now come on, I'll show you where my room is."

Tifa sighed and chuckled, "Ah, alright, let's go."

"I'll be up in a minute," Elmyra called up to them as they headed upstairs, "Just gonna put some things away."

* * *

"Ok, this is my room, you can grab some pj's out of the drawer if you want, and there's extra blankets in the closet if you get cold, and the bathroom is right down the hall to the right. Do you want anything?" Aeris offered. 

Tifa shook her head, "Oh, no, this is perfect. Thanks a lot Aeris, you've been really kind. Good night."

Aeris smiled, "Night Tifa." she said and shut the door behind her as she made her way into the quiet hallway.

Tifa had walked over the the bed near the left of the bedroom and sat down, kicking off her shoes in the process. She looked around and checked out the room, it was a hell of a lot nicer than she had seen before in a normal home. It wasn't too big. but it had a small window, a nice big fluffy bed with lots of blankets, there was a table with a mirror and stool made out of wood on the opposite side of the bed and a dresser and a closet as well.

Tifa closed her eyes and laid down on the bed, oh boy, was it ever comfy. She sighed and smiled and she lifted herself up off the bed and pulled the covers out from underneath her and snuggled cozily under them. Then, she reached over to the small nightstand beside the bed and flicked off the lamp.

At first, Tifa wasn't sure about Aeris, she knew Cloud had stayed over last night and she couldn't help but feel jealous, but after she had actually gotten to talk with Aeris, Tifa really couldn't be mad at her. She was great. Nice, funny, kind, and generally a warm and welcoming person. It was too bad that she was probably leaving in the moring, she would have liked to gotten to know Aeris and Elmyra better, Tifa just wished Cloud would reconsier and join them.

* * *

Just like he had thought, Cloud hadn't gotten to sleep yet, and apparently Aeris knew he hadn't either since he had heard a knock on the door. Chances were, it was either her or Tifa, but since he had heard Aeris bring Tifa into her room and then leave, he guessed Tifa was still in there, so that left Aeris to be at his door, for the second night in a row. 

"You can come in, Aeris." he said lazily.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked, coming in and closing the door behind her.

"I have my ways." he remarked, keeping his sleepy eyes closed.

Aeris chuckled, "Of course you have your ways, why wouldn't you?" she said, walking over to the bed, "Anyway, I just came to see if you needed anything, and say good night."

Cloud cracked one eye open and watched her sit on the bed at his feet, "Oh no, you just watched me argue with Barret and Tifa for a good long while, I think you've put up with enough of me."

"Don't worry about that," Aeris looked at him and grinned, "besides, I think you had more of a point anyway."

Cloud smiled at her remark, "Well good, atleast now I know I'm not the only one, and I don't feel like a jerk anymore. Now maybe I can sleep tonight...except, now I don't even feel so tired anymore." he said sitting up.

Aeris inhaled, "Yeah, me either. I'd stay up, but I'm sleeping in the other room with my mom and she's probably sound asleep already."

"Well...I'll just grab a blanket and sleep on the floor and you can take the bed, and we can just go to sleep whenever...if you want?" Cloud offered.

"I'm not going to take the bed on you Cloud, but I wouldn't mind staying up a little while longer with you."

"Ok," Cloud folded his arms behind his head and laid back down, "So..."

"So..?" Aeris repeated, pushing back so she was resting her back on the wall, "Do you think you're going to leave tomorrow?" she asked.

Cloud looked up, "I really...I don't think so. I mean, I don't want to, I have no reason to go and break into anything or do anything to piss Shin-Ra off even more. That's the last thing I need, besides, look what happened last time we did."

"You're absolutely right, I think." Aeris agreed, "Well, whatever you decide, you can stay here as long as you want, I can promise you that."

Cloud shifted his gaze from the ceiling to Aeris, "I'd try to argue with you on that one...but I know you'd end up winning, so I'll just say thank you again." she gave him a smug smile and a nod, "I take it, you don't know how long you're staying?" she asked.

Cloud sat up and rasied an eyebrow, "How do you know I'll be staying at all? I could head out somewhere tomorrow." he challenged.

Aeris closed her eyes and shook her head, "You're not going anywhere. I don't care if I've only known you for a few days, but I know that you have absolutely no plans to go anywhere what so ever, even though you said you were leaving Midgar soon."

Cloud sat there, resting on his arms, with his palms on the bed, mouth open, "You, Aeris, are a mind reader... How'd yo know that? I barely knew that."

"You're easy to read Cloud, not that it's a bad thing. I can just tell with you." she smiled, moving closer to him so they were now sitting side by side.

"Hmph...everyone else thinks I'm confusing, especially Tifa, she always saying "What are you thinking?" "What's wrong with you?" "What happened to you?" and other stuff...it gets pretty annoying, she just doesn't leave me alone sometimes, but I know she's just trying to be a good friend."

Aeris only responded with a, "Mm hmm." and the two of them just sat there in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't an akward silence, they both just felt it wasn't the time to talk just yet.

Cloud looked over at Aeris when she sighed and let herself plop down and lay on the pillow beside him. He looked down at her, "Tired?"

She tilted her head to the side to look at him, "Mmm...no, not yet, it's just comfier this way."

"Ah, ok."

"So, Cloud, I was right then?"

"Huh?"

'Sometimes he is clueless...oh well.' Aeris laughed in her head, "I mean, you are staying...right?"

Cloud lifted his head in realization, "Ohh...right about that. Yeah...I guess I am...if that's ok?" he looked down at her.

"Of course it's ok." she grinned at him. "My mom will be happy too, she likes you."

Cloud smiled, well atleast he wasn't pressured into leaving now that he had somewhere to stay, and for free at that.

After Cloud staying was agreed on, the two talked for a little while more, about random things, their pasts, likes, dislikes, and they gradually got to know more about each other better. When the talking died down, Cloud had still been sitting up, thinking to himself. Aeris hadn't said anything in quite a while, so he turned his body and starred down at her. Well, she was certainly tired now due to the fact that she had passed out on him.

Cloud sighed and reached over for the lamp on the hightstand and flicked it off so that the whole room was pitch black. He then, as quietly and as slowly as he could, laid himself down and rested his arms behind his head and finally let sleep take him.

* * *

Tifa shot up out of her bed when she heard an ear piercing scream coming from outside the bedroom. She bolted out of bed and ran out the door. 

"Aeris!" There is was again. She figured the voice definately belonged to Elmyra who was downstairs.

Tifa ran down the stairs and into the kitchen to find her yelling out the door.

"Elmyra, what's wrong?"

Elmyra poked her head back in the door. "I can't find Aeris! I woke up and she wasn't in bed so I looked all downstairs and then I came out here and oh! I hope that Turk didn't take her! I've been so worried about her after he came here yesterday!"

Tifa placed her hands on Elmyra's shoulders, "Ok, don't worry. You have to relax I'm sure she's fine." she said, trying to calm her, "Now. Did you check the basement where Barret and Marlene are?" Elmyra nodded. "And, did you check if she was in any of the bathrooms and the garden?" she nodded again. Tifa raised an eyebrow..."Did you check...Cloud's room?" Elmyra shook her head, "It's 7:30. Why would he be awake?" Tifa bit her lip and shook her head, "I don't know...but I'll go check for you."

She left Elmyra sitting at the table and jogged upstairs. It was weird, she wanted to find Aeris, of course she did, but one part of her mind hoped that she wasn't in Cloud's room. Tifa mentally kicked herself for getting jealous over this...but she couldn't help it. She walked down the hallway until she came to Cloud's room and knocked on the door.

For a moment there was no answer, until Tifa heard light footsteps coming closer. The door then opened up, revealing Cloud, who was resting against the door, rubbing his eyes, which still looked closed. He was tired, she cloud tell, from what, she had no idea, he went to bed early enough. Tifa also noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt, and managed to keep herself from starring.

"Tifa? Wha-what time is it?" Cloud asked.

"It's..7:30 and something might be wrong..."

Cloud immediately opened his eyes and stood up straight, "There's something wrong? What's wrong? What happened?"

Tifa looked at him, "Is...Aeris with you?"

Cloud just stood there, his mouth was open slightly, and he wasn't sure what to say...yeah sure she was in there but he just realized now that this situation could look _really _bad...

"Yeah. Yeah she's in here."

Tifa sighed with relief, thankful that Aeris was fine, but directly after that she felt angry, "What is she doing in there?" she asked hotly.

Cloud scratched the back of his head, "She fell asleep in here last night. We were talking... and she passed out."

Tifa raised an eyebrow at him, "We couldn't find her. Elmyra was worried." she added, then turned and left.

Cloud sighed with relief and walked back into the room, and shut the door.

* * *

"Yeah she's up there." Tifa said dully, walking down the stairs. 

"Oh thank god!" Elmyra said, relaxing in her chair, thankful that her daughter wasn't missing, then she realized something, "Wait...what was she doing up there?" she asked Tifa as she was taking a seat at the table, "She fell asleep after she and Cloud were up talking."

Elmyra looked away from her, "Oh, ok. Well, now that that's settled, I'm making breakfast!" she smiled and hopped up out of her seat.

* * *

Cloud ran his hand through his messy blonde locks and walked over to the bed where Aeris slept soundly. He knew he should probably wake her up and tell her what happened. He crawled halfway on the bed with one knee and one hand on the mattress and reached over with his other hand and placed it on the sleeping girl's shoulder. "Aeris..." he said quietly. She didn't move, "Aeris." he said again, shaking her lightly. This time, she let out a small moan and squirmed under his hand. Cloud pulled back and watched her eyes flutter open to look at him. Aeris inhaled, "...Good morning." 

Cloud got up off the bed and stood back up, "Morning...you're mom was scared." Aeris looked at him, worried, and sat up, "Wha- what happened?"

He grinned, "She couldn't find you."

Aeris looked around, "...Oh...Oh!" her eyes went a little wide and she got up off the bed, "I hope she doesn't think, ok, nevermind. I have to go talk to her, she probably thought I was abducted by Turks." she laughed.

Cloud nodded, and watched Aeris head out the door.

* * *

"Mom? Mom are you down here?" Aeris called, walking into the kitchen. 

Elmyra turned away from the counter, "Oh! Aeris! There you are, I was so worried before. I thought that Turk had come and taken you away. Don't scare me like that again ok?" she warned, embracing Aeris in a small hug.

"Oh, I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to worry you."

Elmyra pulled away from Aeris, but still kept a loose grip on her shoulders, "So..." she mused, "You were in Cloud's room..."

Aeris narrowed her eyes, "...Yes...and?"

Elmyra bit her lip and smiled playfully, "Did you do it?"

Aeris looked comfused, "Did I do what? - oh my god! Mom! No." she started laughing. "You are so immature!"

"I'm kidding, relax." Elmyra said, going back to the counter to continue with breakfast.

"Where'd Tifa go?" Aeris asked her, taking a seat at the table.

"She's in the shower."

"Oh, ok, are Barret and Marlene up yet?"

"Yeah, I think they're folding the couch back up."

Aeris nodded, and started twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.

"Is Cloud awake?" Elmyra asked her. Aeris looked up, "Yeah. I don't know if he went back to sleep though."

"Well," Elmyra placed a pan on the stove, "I think you should go get him and make sure he's up anyway. Breakfast will be soon." she blew a piece of stray hair out of her sight, and cracked an egg over the pan.

Aeris shrugged, "Sure." she said simply. Pulling out of the chair, and making a rather loud squeak on the floor, she pushed the wooden piece back under the table. Walking over to the stairs, Aeris ended up getting lost in her own thoughts. She just realized that for the next few days...or for however long, she knew she would be doing this every morning. Going to wake up Cloud, now that he was staying with her for who knows how long. Then Aeris got to thinking, if she had already known him for just two days and they had connected this well so far, how much closer would they become being around each other all day every day?

By now, she had reached the top of the stairway. Aeris dropped her hand off the railing and turned the corner to the secluded room at the back of the second storey of the house.

'Leave it to Cloud to choose the most lonely room in the house.' she noticed, placing her hand on the bedroom door and turning without thinking. In the midst of opening the door, Aeris realized she probably should have knocked first...just in case, but the door was already too far opened and she couldn't have stopped herself if she tried. Luckily, she found nothing out of the ordinary...except, now that she looked around, she saw that not only was Cloud not in need of a private moment for any reason, but he wasn't even there to begin with.

Aeris walked slowly into the room, confused. 'Where did he go?' she thought to herself. She let herself into the room. The window by the bed was open, letting in a light gentle breeze. Aeris inhaled the smell of the air. The amount of plants and flowers she had in the garden covered up the usual garbage-like smell of the slums and gave off a more pleasant scent, but only near her house of course.

She sat herself down on the unmade bed and placed her hands in her lap, trying to think if Cloud had done something like jump out the window and leave everybody. 'No,' she thought, 'He wouldn't do that...not after we talked last night about him staying...would he?' Aeris tried to shake the thought from her mind. Of course Cloud wouldn't just up and leave...and through the window at that! Her thoughts were interupted however, by the sound of heavy boots at the doorway.

Cloud walked leisurely into his "new room" and didn't notice Aeris on his bed, he was too busy drying his hair with a small towel and his gaze was toward the floor.

Aeris looked over at Cloud walking into the room. So, he had been in the shower...and wasn't exactly fully dressed yet. His shirt was off, and the leftover water from his hair was trickling down his exposed upper half and his pants weren't even done up all the way, nor were his boots.

Trying hard not to stare was a more difficult task than she had originally though, seeing as how she couldn't stop staring at him. Not that she was blaming herself all that much, he really did have a nice body. A few years fighting in SOLDIER and being infused with Mako would do that, not to mention that sword of his looked awfully heavy...his arms showed that fairly well...'Stop it!' Aeris willed herself to look away and give a little "Ahem." which seemed to get Cloud's attention

He stopped drying his hair and looked toward the bed, "Oh...uh..." he studdered, looking down at himself, "Sorry, I should've gotten dressed..."

"No!" Aeris interupted, and instantly blushed after she had just said 'No I did not want you to get dressed.' Well, that was what it had sounded like to Cloud. "I mean, it was my fault, I shouldn't have come into the room." she stammered.

He gave her a crooked grin as he tossed the towel on the bedstand, "Doesn't matter. I have pants on."

Aeris simply nodded, and ended up staring...again, this time at his face, and it was probably quite noticable, but she couldn't help it. She loved his eyes, they were just so...blue.

"Aeris." Cloud said in a low tone. It was then she knew he had caught her staring at him, so she tried to avert her eyes from his as quickly as possible but the first place she looked down at was his exposed body. 'Damn this is harder than it seems!' she mentally kicked herself. 'God, I hope we never go to beach or something, he'd be looking like this all day!'

Aeris continued to keep her eyes away from his as Cloud said nothing and turned around and picked his shirt up off the floor.

"Uh...Mom wanted me to wake you up for breakfast."

"Ok." he replied, with his back still facing her, sliding the shirt over his partially wet body. "Did uh, did she know that you were...in here last night?" Cloud asked carefully, turning back around.

Aeris caught his gaze with hers again.

"Yes."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"And, she kind of...laughed. Then teased me, but believed me when I told her we were just talking."

"Ok, good."

Aeris smiled at him, "Why? Were you afraid that it would be akward?" she teased.

Cloud rolled his shoulders nervously and averted his gaze toward the doorway, "...Maybe. but it doesn't matter now right, because lucky for me your mom has a sense of humor."

He watched as Aeris stood up directly in front of him, "That's right, and I'm hungry so we should head downstairs and eat before all the food is gone." she suggested.

Cloud nodded and lifted a foot to leave, "Um, Cloud?" Aeris stopped him.

"Huh?"

"You might want to finish doing up your pants first." she suggested, fully aware that she had gotten him somewhat embarrased.

Cloud sighed, "Yeah, maybe...thanks for looking. Or else I would've looked like an idiot." he grinned.

Aeris blushed, "I..wasn't looking." she mumbled as he did up his pants and walked out the door, "Uh huh, then how else did you notice?"

She walked after Cloud, "I was just...shut up, or I won't feed you!"

"Oh yeah?" Cloud mused, "You can't stop me if I get to the food first." he finished and bolted down the stairs.

* * *

Barret and Tifa were sitting at the table and had just finished eating, and were now engaged in a conversation about what exactly they were planning to do. Marlene wasn't really paying attention. She was too busy tending to her fourth pancake. 

"Marlene is that your fourth pancake?" Elmyra asked the small girl.

Marlene looked up at her with a mouthful of food an nodded. Elmyra placed her hands on her hips, "Well I've never seem a little one eat so much! Hats off to you!"

Marlene gave her a big smile and went back to eating and Elmyra went back to cleaning up the kitchen while Barret and Tifa continued to talk. They stopped when they heard some thumping noises and looked toward the stairs where Cloud was dashing down them as fast as he could. He grabbed onto the railing and completely avoided the entire last set of stairs and jumped around the side of the railing onto the kitchen floor. Aeris wasn't far behind him on the stairs and struggled to keep up, but by the time she actually made it into the room, Cloud was already seated at the table and had a full plate of food ready.

He looked up at her and shrugged, "I win."

Aeris narrowed her eyes at him jokingly and took a seat next to Barret.

"Aren't you cheery this morning?" Tifa said staring rather coldly at Cloud. "You in an abnormally good mood or did you forget what happened yesterday?" she asked him. It was then that Cloud's expression, which was oddly enough for him, a happy one, went back down to his normal stoic one. Come to think of it, he had been in a good mood and he didn't know why. Maybe for some reason he did accidentally forget about what happened yesterday. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, the rest of Sector 7.

"I..." Cloud started, but decided to give up. He just shook his head and went back to eating.

Tifa still kept her eyes on him though, and decided to get straight to the point, "Are you coming with us?"

Cloud faced her, "...No. Sorry, I'm not, whatever business you have with the Shin-Ra is none of mine. Last time I was involved, I almost got myself killed. Not to mention, there are two of you." he could already feel his blood boiling, he made it pretty clear last night that he didn't want to be any part of another personal revenge scheme, why would she ask him again? "Do you really think just you and Barret can storm into Shin-Ra Headquarters and do some damage? You'll get yourselves killed! And!-" he stopped suddenly when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough Cloud. You don't have to go but...don't...don't repeat last night's fight ok?" Aeris told him calmly.

Cloud looked at her and breathed heavily, "...Ok." Aeris nodded and slid her hand off of his shoulder.

"Tifa...Barret. I am sorry, but this, I can't do this, it has nothing to with me."

"It's ok Cloud..." Tifa said, looking down at the table, "You don't have to come, and I know it's only Barret and I, so we weren't going to just storm into Shin-Ra Headquarters. We were going to think of a plan..."

"I'm still not going." Cloud said, crossing his arms.

Tifa sighed, "Yeah...yeah ok. So...I guess you're staying here then?"

Cloud nodded, "Yeah...hey wait, what about Marlene?"

At the sound of her name, Marlene dropped her fork and looked up at everyone, "Aunt Elmyra said I can stay here while Papa and Tifa go away! She told me last night! And we're gonna plant flowers and play games, and stay up late and have lots of fun!"

Barret chuckled, "Heh, yeah, but you better behave yourself. Anyway," he stood up, "I guess if it's just be an' Tif goin, then we should head out soon."

Tifa stood up as well, "I guess, then, this is where we part ways...again." she said, looking at Cloud.

He stared back at her and gave her a small nod, "I'll see you later, maybe..."

* * *

A/N: Sorry that took a while to write, I'm such a bum haha. Anyways I hope you guys liked and and thanks a TON! actually, like TONS of TONS! for all the reviews and I hope everyone keeps reading cause it makes me feel special :D 

Hope to have the next chapter up soon enough!

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**

* * *

**Sorry I couldn't update in awhile. For some reason it wouldn't let me log into my account, plus the fact that I have to write the whole chapter over again, that is never fun. Anyway, this chapter might seem a little rushed, I dunno, because I've done it once already. Either way, if it is, I'm sorry it's not intentional.

* * *

Cloud sat on the window ledge in his bedroom. It was nice to sit and relax for once. What was once a rarity for him was now most likely going to become daily routine, at least that was what he assumed, as long as the rest of his time spent here went by like this. He rather enjoyed it. 

Cloud sighed contently and rested his head on the back of the ledge, letting the wind blow through his blonde locks. He had his right leg inside the room, foot on the floor and his other leg on the ledge, bent so that his elbow was perched on his knee.

Aeris was outside in the garden with Marlene. They had been planting flowers all morning. Cloud had been watching them for the past twenty minutes. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, although he felt like he should be doing something productive.

He watched leisurely as Marlene held up a yellow flower to Aeris. Aeris then stood up and pointed to a small patch of flowers that Marlene couldn't see. They resembled the flower she had in her hand. The small child spotted the patch and jogged over and dropped to the ground, not caring if her pants got dirty or not.

Marlene placed the flower in with the others and ran back to where Aeris was kneeling over a different patch of flowers. Cloud saw Marlene lean into Aeris and whisper something into her ear and pull back. His gaze then met Aeris' when she looked directly to the window and smiled at him, and waved for him to come outside.

Cloud gave her a tiny nod and jumped off the window ledge. As he headed toward the door, he grabbed his sword out of habit and strapped it on his back, despite the fact that he was only walking into the garden.

When Cloud reached the kitchen he ran into Elmyra who was doing her daily routines.

"Well it's about time you came down from up there." she commented, staying busy and not really looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm just not really used to relaxing so much, I thought I'd make the best of it." Cloud told her.

"Well you got up just in time before Aeris left."

Cloud raised an eyebrow and walked down the last remaining steps, "Where is she going?"

"Oh, just into the market," Elmyra wiped off the counter, "I don't like her going there alone...keeps me jittery all day..."

Cloud chuckled, "I take it you're asking me to go with her?"

"Maybe." Elmyra smiled, "If you don't mind."

"You don't have to ask, I don't mind."

"Thanks. You better head out there before she leaves."

* * *

When Cloud was on his way out to the backyard, he figured going into the market would probably be a good thing. He needed some new clothes anyway, plus it wouldn't hurt to see what he could do for a little bit of money. When he made his way around the house, Aeris and Marlene were sitting together on a small black bench in front of the garden. 

He noticed they had stopped talking when they saw him coming toward them.

"Bout' time you got out here, it's gorgeous weather. Perfect for a walk." Aeris said, crossing her legs.

Cloud smiled, and took a seat next to her on the bench, "Yeah yeah, we're going to the market, I know."

Aeris' cheeks turned slightly red, "Oh...my mom probably said something, you don't really have to come if - " "No." he interrupted, "I want to come, it's fine. I have some stuff I need to look at anyway."

"Well, ok, as long as it's not a bother."

Cloud looked up at the big hole in the plate that allowed sunshine into Aeris small yard, "Don't worry about it. You know you sure are lucky here." he said changing subjects.

Aeris looked at him, "I am?"

"Yeah, I mean, most people live in the slums, never seeing the sun, breathing polluted air, but you have clean air, sunshine, a nice house, beautiful garden."

Aeris looked away, pondering, "I guess you're right, but I'd still like to get out of here soon." She finished and turning to face him.

"You do?" Cloud looked surprised.

"Yeah sure, no one wants to live in the slums forever. I want to at least see what's out there, but..." she trailed off, looking down at her feet.

Cloud leant down and tried to peer underneath the hair that covered her face, "But what?"

Aeris looked up at him, "I...I can't leave alone. Not just because of my mom, I just know I wouldn't make it. I don't know anything about what's out there, or how to fend myself, or know the way other places function. I...I'm just not cut out for it." A frown instantly appeared on her face as she looked back down to her feet.

Cloud felt his face drop too. The poor girl had never even been out of the slums, never seen the world, nothing. He had to say at least something to help cheer her up. Without thinking, he said the first thing that came to mind. The first thing that he wanted to happen, but was almost certain wasn't possible, "I'll take you." he blurted.

At once, her face lifted up and met his, "W-what?"

'Uh oh, why did I say that...? Don't promise things you know you can't keep.'

"Someday." Cloud said. "Someday, I'll take you out of Midgar, so you can see other places."

Aeris placed a hand on his shoulder, "You'd do that for me?"

He nodded, "Well I have to leave here sometime, you can just come with me."

"You'd put up with me for that long?"

"Mmmm I think I can handle you," Cloud grinned, "But if you get out of line, or become a hassle, I don't mind givin' you a smack upside the head to keep you in line." he teased.

Aeris gasped and placed a hand over her mouth, "You're terrible...besides, we both know that I'm superior to you in every way."

"Oh really?" Cloud challenged, "I seem to recall this conversaton yesterday resulting in you losing a fight. So I'd keep quiet if I were you."

"Alright alright, you win," Aeris surrendered, standing up, "but, we should head out soon."

"What about me!" Marlene jumped up off the bench.

Aeris knelt down to the young girl's height, "Mom is waiting for you in the kitchen and you're going to make cookies."

"Cookies! Yes!"

"Ok, you better hurry up before she starts without you." Aeris shooed Marlene into the house.

Cloud shot Aeris a quizical look after Marlene had left, "Shouldn't you tell her where we're going to be? Aeris shrugged, "She'd want to come with us no doubt, and I don't want her in the market, plus that's no fair for you either."

"Whatever you say, but we should get going, it's a busy time of day and you never know what kind of people are wandering around the market. It's best if we get in and out of there quickly."

Aeris nodded, "I agree, it's definately not one of my favourite places to be."

"I can see why," Cloud agreed, standing up and stretching his arms, "What do you need to buy anyway?"

"Ah, just a bit of clothes and some things for mom, and it wouldn't hurt to sell a few flowers either." she answered, standing up next to Cloud and wiping her dress, "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, I also could use some clothes, I've been wearing the same thing for about three days now, and the shirt isn't even mine."

Aeris laughed, "I guess you are due for some new stuff then. Come on," she said tugging on his sleeve gently, "Let's hurry up and get out of here then."

* * *

The market was crowded and bustling with people. There wasn't much room to walk around in the "streets" either. Each of the slums only had one shop and trade area and this was it. From clothes to weapons to materia and even to some underground dealings, Wallmarket was the place to find basically anything. Unfortunately, anything also included Shin-Ra spies and a few Turks now and then. 

Cloud pushed his way through a few rude people who were walking on the "wrong" side of the walkway, "Agh, this is ridiculous..." he mumbled to Aeris who didn't say anything back, "Aeris?" Cloud stopped and looked around. She was no where in sight. 'This is just fucking great, I tell Elmyra I'll take care of her and we're not here for ten minutes and I've lost her already.' Cloud scolded himself.

He retreated from the right side of the street and on to the left, walking back to where he had started. Certainly, Aeris couldn't have walked ahead of him, she had to be back here somewhere. Cloud walked back while his eyes scanned the crowd for her familiar pink dress. Looking to the left side of shops, he saw nothing, and in front of him, nothing again. "Aeris!" Cloud tried yelling, but that was no use, since all the people near him cut his voice off almost completely.

'I better find her...she better be alright...' Cloud continued to manuever himself through the crowd until he was back to the entrance. "Nothing." he said aloud. "Great. Now where do I look." he felt almost useless until a voice caught his ear.

"Can I have a flower too please?" a light voice asked.

'Well that sure isn't Aeris' voice but who else has flowers in this shithole.' Cloud began to follow the voice, which was accompanied by a few others, "Me too, I've never seen a real one before."

'Ah ha!' Cloud walked over to a nearby shop where it looked like the voices had been coming from, and sure enough, kneeling on the ground was Aeris, who was graciously giving away three free flowers to some small children.

"Thanks flower lady! I'm going to show my mom!" on of the kids said excitedly and hurried on into the shop.

When all three children were inside, Cloud walked over to Aeris and placed a hand on her shoulder. He felt her jump slightly before she turned around. "Cloud, you scared me there."

"Yeah, and you scared me too." he said, in a slightly more serious tone, pulling her closer to him, "I thought I lost you. You shouldn't wander without telling me."

Aeris bit her lip, "I'm sorry...I'm not used to having someone kind enough to be looking out for me all the time...I just wasn't thinking...and."

"It's ok." he stopped her, "Just stay close, and don't do it again." Cloud finished as he let his hand trail down her arm to grasp her own hand, "Come, on, show me where you need to go. I want to get out of here as fast as we can."

"I do too. It's too hectic in here today and I don't want to leave Marlene just with my mom all day. I want to give her as much attention as I can since both Barret and Tifa are gone for a while."

"I know what you mean." Cloud turned his gaze toward hers as they walked hand in hand through the market, Aeris trailing slighlty behind him, "It must be hard on her to have her only parent gone so much."

"Yeah...ooh! In here!" Aeris said, pointing to a nearby store. Cloud complied and took a sharp turn to the left across the road and into a small clothing store.

When they entered the store, Cloud let Aeris' hand fall from his and waited until she was standing beside him, "Looking for anything in paricular because that would be great." he asked looking around the store, obviously not enjoying what he had just walked into.

"Oh lighten up, you've probably never had to shop with a woman in your life, one time is not going to kill you." Aeris teased and started browsing though racks upon racks of clothes. "I'll decide what's capable of killing me thank you very much." he said, crossing his arms.

"Ah, relax, besides, they have guy clothes too, over there." Aeris pointed to a corner on the opposite side of the store. Cloud sighed and headed over to where she had directed him and within five minutes, had gone through five racks of clothes and grabbed three shirts and two pairs of pants.

"Ok, I'm done." he said quickly, as if trying to urge Aeris out of the store.

She turned from the pile of clothes she was sifting through, "Already? Did you try those on?"

Cloud shook his head, "I know what fits. You almost done? Can we leave soon?"

Aeirs threw her head back and laughed, "Good god! You are the worst guy to shop with. Atleast other guys sit quietly and wait for a good ten minutes."

Cloud crossed his arms, "Yeah but that's usually the boyfriend who does that."

"Well can't a friend do that for another friend?" Aeris asked, giving him a pouty look. Cloud laughed, "I guess not, I'm itching to get outta here."

Aeris grabbed his hand and tugged at it, "Aww come on, then just act like a boyfriend for today? Please?" Cloud chuckled and moved closer to her, "But the up side for a guy to shop with his girlfriend is because she does something for him in return."

" You really ARE the worst person to shop with!" Aeris said, pretending to be "appauled" by his comment.

Cloud waved his hand, "Ah relax...I was kidding...well somewhat. Just hurry up before it gets to busy outside will ya?"

Aeris grinned and hurried into a changeroom, "I'll be quick. I promise." she called to him before she shut the door. When she had disappeared from his sight, Cloud sighed and headed toward the shop window and stared out into the open market.

'Too many people out there...something could be going on and no one would ever know.' he thought to himself, shifting his weight onto one leg.

Now that he thought about it, it was pretty hot in the store. Or maybe it was just him? Whatever it was, Cloud didn't like it and was unintentionally showing it. Anyone who looked at him, including the shopkeep was greeted with his usual, cold stare. Although it was indeed usual for him, Cloud found it strange when he realized he was doing it because he had just been in a more cheery mood no more then five minutes ago.

He ruffled his hair in frustration and walked up to the counter to pay for his clothes. When he was done, he heard the changeroom door open. Aeris emerrged with her outfits in her hand, smiling, "I hope I didn't take too long."

"Not at all." he replied, feeling the temperature in the room lower considerably.

"Good then, we can head out." she told him, moving closer to stand beside him at the counter.

After Aeris paid for her clothes, the two had visited two more stores, picking up a few things here and there. Cloud had walked into one of the weapon shops, but found nothing to his liking. When they were through, the sun was high in the sky and it was getting quite hot.

"We can finally get out of here I think. I'm pretty sure I have everything I need." Aeris said, wiping the sweat off of her face.

"Yeah, I'm done." Cloud agreed happily and pushed through the ever growing crowd.

It wasn't until they started walking that the two of them noticed they had walked pretty far into the market. Unfortunately, it was hot, stuffy, and crowded.

Cloud found himself walking a bit faster than normal, he really wanted to leave. He wasn't too worried about Aeris, she seemed to want to get home as much as he did, so he knew she woulnd't have a problem keeping up, that was until he felt her fingertips that had been loosely linked with his, slide out of his grip.

Aeris was getting a little tired. This was a terrible environment to be in and although Cloud was walking rather fast, she knew there would be no problem in keeping up, especially since her hand was latched onto his, but only barely. They only had two more sections of the market to cross and they would be out of there.

Suddenly, Aeris felt a sharp pain in her upper arm and her hand fell out of Cloud's as she was pulled into a small area in between two shops.

She felt her back being slammed into a wall and winced slightly. Opening her eyes, Aeris found herself face to face with a strange man. He was no doubt smelly, dirty, scruffy and a hell of a lot bigger than she was.

"Now I'm going to ask you nicely just once. Give me all of your stuff, including your money and _maybe_ I'll consider letting you go without anything more." he warned, keeping her pinned on the wall.

Aeris had never felt this scared in her life. She knew either way, this situation didn't have anything good coming from it. She figured she might as well give him her things and maybe she'd get out alright.

She was about to tell him she was ready to give him what he wanted but was cut off when she heard the man's jaw crack and watced him fall to the ground.

The stranger didn't stay on the ground for long though. Almost as soon as he fell, he was back up again, clutching his bloody face.

Aeris inhaled deeply as she watched Cloud walk past her and grip the man's collar and pull him up to his feet effortlessly before slamming him into a brick wall.

The dissoriented man went to take a swing but Cloud put one arm up to block it and with the other, gave the man another punch to the face. This time he fell and stayed down.

"If I ever see you again, or if you ever touch her again, I'll make sure you don't ever get up."

That man coughed and nodded. Cloud turned away from him and jogged over to where Aeris was stilll leaning against the wall. He gripped her shoulders gently, "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah...I think so. I just...can we just leave please?" she asked, trembling slightly.

Cloud nodded and took her hand in his again, this time, more firmly and led her out of the alley and back into the market where they proceeded to jog through the entire crowd and out into the old playground.

* * *

Once they had stopped running, the two dropped their hands and caught their breath. Cloud walked over to an old rusty slide and rested himself against it while he waited for Aeris to catch up. Despite that they had ran through the entire market, he wasn't at all tired, thanks to the mako and Soldier training. It wasn't long before she joined him. She leant beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, "...Thank you." she said quietly, inhaling a few deep breaths. 

Cloud looked down at her, "Not a problem. Are you sure you're alright, I mean..."

"I'm fine. It's done and over with. I'll be alright." she said, looking up to him, "Don't worry about me."

"O...ok..." Cloud agreed hesitantly. Aeris gave him a reassuring smile and took her head off his shoulder.

"Trust me, I'm fine, let's just go home?"

Cloud sighed, "Alright, I think we've had enough for one day."

The two headed off back to Aeris' house. The trip was walked in complete silence. Neither of them minded though...there wasn't much to be said that wouldn't make anything akward.

When they reached the entrance to Aeris' yard, Cloud spoke up, "Are um...are you going to tell your mom?"

Aeris started playing with her hands and looked to her feet nervously, "No. I don't think so. Nothing ended up happening so I don't want to worry her..."

"Ok."

"Thanks again Cloud."

Cloud looked at her, "Don't mention it...I shouldn't have lost you in the first place."

Aeris looked to him and bit her lip, "Oh, Cloud, that wasn't your fault. It would have happened if you weren't there with me in the first place. And if you weren't there, no one would have saved me."

"I-I guess...but."

"No buts! Didn't have anything to do with you. Now umm...stop talking about it before my mother hears us from out the window." Aeris ordered.

"Marlene, Aeris and Cloud are back." Elmyra turned to the little girl sitting at the table.

"Yay!" she shouted excitedly and hopped up off her chair and grabbed the plate of cookies she had helped to bake and ran out the door.

"Look what I made!"

Aeris grinned when she saw Marlene running towards them. She bent down so that she and Marlene were at the same level.

"Try one!" Marlene urged, forcing the plate toward Aeris.

Aeris reached over and grabbed a cookie off the plate and stood back up.

"Mmmm! These are good!" she said with a mouth half full of cookie.

Marlene broke out in an ear-to-ear grin, "Good! I'm gonna go tell Aunt Elmyra that you liked them so I can make more!" And with that, she dashed back into the house.

"Well," Cloud started, shoving his hands into his pockets, "At least she's too preoccupied to be missing Barret or Tifa."

"Yeah..."

Cloud sighed, "We should head in then, I smell supper." he brushed passed Aeris, placing a hand on her shoulder and letting it drop off after he walked passed her.

For a moment Aeris just stood there, watching him walk away into the house, 'I'm lucky he was there...what would have happened if he had never decided to stay here?' She had been repeating those questions in her head the whole way home and it still gave her the willies...

* * *

It had been long past supper and it had gotten quite dark out. The house was lit with only a few dim lights. Elmyra and Marlene were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace chatting away. They had been getting along great for their first day together. 

Aeris had insisted she take another shower directly after supper. She claimed it was dusty in the market and there was dirt everywhere, but Cloud knew better than that. He didn't blame her though. Everytime he thought about what had happened earlier on that day he felt heated and his fists would unintentionally clench up. 'I should have just finished him off...' he contemplated to himself, 'that way, that dirtbag never would have touched anyone ever again...' But he couldn't have done that...Aeris had already been through enough, Cloud didn't want her to have to witness him taking someone's life right in front of her.

It was going on 8 o'clock. Aeris had been in the shower for quite awhile now, but Cloud decided to leave her be for now and just relax in his bed. That had become quite the pastime for him in the past few days, he had forgotten what it was like to actually have the time to relax and not worry about anything.

His window was wide open and it was letting in a warm breeze, not to mention the seclusion of the area the house was in made it nice and quiet outside, Cloud could have fallen asleep right there.

His eyelids were slowly becoming heavy and the bed was becoming more and more soft as the minutes wore on. Cloud wished he could live in peaceful moments like this forever, but something always managed to interrupt them...

"You're not going to bed now are you?"

Cloud's eyes opened slowly and he let out a raspy groan.

"Come on, Cloud. It's not even 8:30 yet." Aeris protested, hopping onto his bed, trying to keep him awake.

"...But I'm tired..." he mumbled in an almost desperate tone, "...And besides, I wouldn't have fallen asleep if you hadn't taken so long in the shower."

Aeris smiled as Cloud rolled over onto his stomach and let his hand fall off the side of the bed, "Well, I feel much better now."

Cloud's face was opposite her's but he couldn't help but smile, knowing she was ok now, "That's good..." he said quietly, turning back over and sitting up lazily, "I didn't really care that you took so long anyway."

Aeris brushed a few dripping locks of hair out of her vision, "I know. You're too nice to me to care about soemthing like that."

"...Nice huh...? I've never really been called "nice"" Cloud said, ruffling his hair with his hand, and when he did so, he heard Aeris let out a small gasp.

"Look at your hand!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Huh...?" he looked down, and sure enough, his hand hand was quite bruised and swollen, "Well look at that.." he mused.

"Let me fix it." Aeris told him.

Cloud chuckled, "No, that's fine. but thanks anyway, I can barely feel it."

Aeris cringed, "But it looks so...painful, and if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have punched anybody. Please?" she asked again, taking his hand in hers and examining it.

"I don't want you to get worn out just from healing a few bruises on my hand." Cloud insisted.

"It wouldn't wear me out, it would barely take anything-"

"-then it's not worth healing."

They both stayed silent for a moment, contemplating on what to say next. Aeris knew this was one argument she probably was not going to win, so, with nothing left to say to try and convince him, she did the next thing that came to mind. She surprised him by jumping him and pinning him to the bed, in an attemp to keep him there long enough to fix his hand.

Cloud, of course, humoured her by doing a somewhat decent act of giving her some sort of recognision for her actions and didn't use even half the force he had on her, which in turn gave Aeris the illusion that she actually was able to keep him on the bed.

Although that didn't stop Cloud from moving his hand every which way possible to keep her from grabbing it.

"If you keep this up you're going to end up hurting my hand even more..." he said teasingly.

"Well maybe if you would hold still and do me a favour by making you feel better, I'd leave you be!" she complained, hardly aware of the position she had them in. Aeris had indeed, jumped right on him, causing Cloud to fall flat on his back while she landed with her legs on either side of his hips.

Cloud on the other hand,_ had _realized exactly how they were sitting but only when, in her struggle, Aeris had moved somewhat involuntarily _against_ him. Which, lucky for her, had distracted enough to stop moving his hand for a moment.

"Aha!" Aeris remarked with triumph as she grabbed his hand, but she soon followed with a skriek as she felt herself being pulled down onto the bed by Cloud who, in an instant, wrapped his arm around her waist and flipped her onto her back. He then took his bruised hand and pinned both of her hands above her head.

Grinning at her, Cloud couldn't help but boast at his victory, "Well, that was a good try, but next time-" he was suddenly cut off when he felt a familiar cool, tingling sensation in his hand. 'Damnit...' he had forgotten his bruised hand was touching hers...and now it was healed.

"You were saying?" Aeris chimed into his thoughts.

Cloud immediately dropped his head in defeat, "You win..."

"That's right, and don't you forget it." she said victoriously as she pried her hands out of his newly healed one. He still hadn't lifted his head.

Aeris' grin had turned into a frown as soon as she noticed this, 'Did it really bother him that much...'

"Cloud...?"

Still, nothing. 'Great,' she thought, 'Now look what I've done...'

"Cloud...are you actually upset?" she placed her hands on his cheeks in attempt to get him to look at her, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you really didn't want me to-"

" Aha! You're sorry! Now who's the winner?" Cloud lifted his face revealing a smug, childish grin."

Oh, so _that's_ how he dealt with losing. 'What a little cheater!' The one time she actually beats him at something, anything, he goes and takes it away.

"You...You are the worst!" Aeris said, looking shocked, "You know you actually had me feeling bad for you."

"I know!" Cloud boasted, "that's why it was funny."

Aeris couldn't help but smile at him, "Ah...You're right." she laughed.

"You see Aeris, when you pick a fight with me-"

Cloud stopped. Aeris had heard it too; the unmistakable sound of the bedroom door creaking open.

It seemed like forever had passed, but somehow neither of them could move out of the position that would either get them in some sort of trouble, or result in about a weeks worth of teasing from Elmyra.

Luckily, when the door had fully opened, it hadn't been who Cloud and Aeris thought it was, "Aunt Elmyra told me to come up and-" Marlene's light voice silenced when she stared at the dumbfounded faces of the couple lying on the bed together.

"...She told me to tell you to come downstairs to help get more firewood what are you guys doing?" she continued in one quick sentence.

"We were..." Aeris stuttered, looking up at Cloud for some sort of help, but all he could do was look at her, and then back at Marlene.

'Oh hell, she's only four, just tell her anything!' Aeris yelled to herself.

"We were, uh...playfighting!" she blurted out.

Marlene tilted her head to the side, and for a moment, she didn't seem to buy it, but a split second later a smile appeared on her little face, "Oh! Ok! I like playfighting too! But the fire is going out so you guys should come help ok?"

"..Ok." Aeris nodded.

"Ok, I'll see you guys downstairs!" Marlene said and bounced down the stairs.

For a moment, the two still sat there, frozen, before each of them simultaneously exhaled with relief. Aeris couldn't help but chuckle as Cloud rolled off of her and laid next to her on the bed.

"That was...interesting..." he mumbled.

* * *

It was strange...Cloud had never been the most popular kid growing up, and he never really had the greatest social skills. But for some odd reason, beyond his knowledge...most things he would do or say would make him feel awkward around any person, even Tifa possibly, but with Aeris it was completely different. Tonight helped prove that. They had both been caught in quite the predicament, and if it were any other girl friends, Cloud was sure that speaking to them for the next few weeks woud have been unbearable...if he had any other girl friends. Another thing he was never particualrily good at; making friends not only with other people, but girls in particular. The only other real friend of the opposite sex he had was Tifa, and she had done nothing but ignore and tease him up till they were fourteen. He had practically joined Soldier just to show her that he could prove himself worthy of being her friend too. 

Again, something he found to be quite strange when dealing with Aeris. He felt no need to act differently or prove himself around her. She seemed to like him the way he was. Cloud had known this girl for all but a few days, she was never shy about feelings and always honest, yet always ended up trying to figure out why she confused him. Cloud decided he could try to figure it out, or not, but either way; he didn't care. She was a friend, and the best one he'd ever have at that, and it didn't matter.

* * *

There. that took TOO long, and I know it seemed rushed :( sorry for that. But if you review the next chapter will be muuuuch better wink wink, budge nudge

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **By now, I'm sure you all know that I own nothing...unfortunately.

I'm glad people are actually still reading this considering it took me forever to get the last chapter up. I even got an "I Love You." in the reviews, which made my day : ).

Anyway, please keep reviewing!

* * *

Four weeks. Had it been that long? A whole entire month? It didn't seem like it. No, it didn't seem like that long at all. _"But..." _Cloud thought, _"I have learned a lot about both Aeris and Elmyra in the time I've been here..." _which was true, he had. In fact, Cloud had never felt more relaxed with any other people in all his life. Too bad he'd be having to leave soon. Would they miss him? He didn't know. He didn't exactly want to leave either...this was a little too frustrating for him. 

Cloud rubbed a hand over his face and brought his other arm up to rest on his forehead to block his eyes from the sunlight that was beaming down radiantly through the church rooftop.

He had been laying on one of the benches near the flower bed for quite some time now. Aeris said she'd be along soon, but that was a while ago. Not that Cloud minded, or thought that anything might be wrong. Aeris had this way of reading him, when he told her he was going to head off to the church, somehow she just knew that he wanted some alone time first. So she let him be. Now that Cloud had already had time to think and was getting a little restless, he decided he would much enjoy her company right about now.

As if on que, he heard someone walk in through the back door of the church, "You didn't _actually_ fall asleep on that bench did you?" a familiar voice asked.

Cloud sat up and looked behind the bench, "Almost." he said. Aeris made her way over to the bench and took a seat next to him, flattening out her dress as she did so.

"What's on your mind?" she asked suddenly.

"Why would you assume I have something on my mind?"

Aeris shrugged, "I just know with you I guess. So...what is it?" she pried again.

_"Well I guess I have to tell her sometime..." _Cloud starred at her. There were a few things he realized in the time he was here. Important things at that. Aeris was an extremely good friend. Wait, no, not just a good one, a great one. And after a month of spending all his time with her, Cloud realized that's all they were. Although, he hadn't been to sure the first few days. Yes, he had been attracted to her, how couldn't he have? She was gorgeous and instantly offered him help when he needed it. But he realized that wasn't fair, to judge his feelings on the first impression, even though they had been good feelings.

Cloud had found that when he was younger and had feelings for girls he was never able to talk to them without studdering, walk without fumbling over things or just act normal. With Aeris, he never felt uncomfortable, or shy, or nervous. He was always able to just act himself and say what he wanted to say with her. That, to him, was a sign of nothing more than a best friend, which in Cloud's mind, somewhat disappointed him.

"I have to leave." he blurted out.

Aeris starred at him, confused, "I just got here though, now you want to leave?"

Cloud lowered his head, "No...I mean...I have to leave here. Leave Midgar."

He looked at Aeris, who didn't say anything. Instead, she just sat there, looking crushed.

"You...you really have to go?"

Cloud nodded. "I do. I wasn't even supposed to be here at all...but I enjoyed spending time with you and it means so much to me that you put up with me for so long-"

"Put up with you?" she interrupted, sounding almost appauled, "Cloud I don't think I've had more fun with anyone else."

He looked at her, "Really? But I'm not_ fun. _I always assumed I was boring, or a downer."

Aeris giggled, "That's totally not true! I mean, look at all the stuff we do! We always go to Wall Market and have fun, you taught me how to fight - you know I have like twice the amount of healing power I used to have? Thanks to you. And we always have things to talk about, even though Tifa told me you were never really sociable...I have no idea what she was talking about..."

_"She was right..."_ Cloud felt like saying, but he let her continue.

" And...and you're my bodyguard..." She mumbled, looking at her feet, "...you always make sure I'm safe, and always look out for me. It's really nice...knowing that someone in this dump actually cares about you. I seriously hope that you haven't always thought you were a burden to me because it's the complete opposite. I love being with you Cloud."

Now he felt bad. She actually enjoyed him? Enjoyed his company, enjoyed talking to him? This was new. And he much liked the feeling of being wanted. Cloud, of course felt the same way for her as she did him.

"I really like being with you too. You know, Aeris, your like the first _real_ friend I've ever really had." he confessed.

She looked toward him with confusion, "But, what about Tifa?"

Cloud snorted, "Tifa? Tifa is a pal. She cares and looks out for me now and then but...when we were young, she didn't know I existed. And when she actually did notice me, she just followed suit and did what the other kids did to me; excluded me from everything, or made fun of me."

Aeris placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder, "I didn't know that...I'm sorry."

Cloud gave her a light chuckle, "It doesn't matter, I don't have to deal with it anymore...but back to me leaving... There's a part of me that wants to stay here, but I know I can't, and I was thinking today and I remembered when we were out on the bench before the first time we went out to Wall Market. I told you I would show you outside of Midgar, and see the rest of the world...and...if you want, you can come with me." he looked at her hopefully.

Aeris looked at him gratefully, "You'd really take me with you?"

"Well I told you I would didn't I? And it would definately be better having company too."

Aeris bit her lip, "Well...are you sure I wouldn't be a bother?"

Cloud shook his head, "Not at all. Plus, I know that you being out of Midgar would be more safe for you. The Turks wouldn't know where to find you...and if they do find us, I'll keep you safe."

"I think you do too much for me Cloud." she grinned.

"Well, it's not like you don't return the favor."

Aeris shrugged, "I guess, I mean...well I do try. But, we should get home, it's almost dark and we should tell mom that's we're leaving."

Cloud nodded with agreement, "I was thinking maybe we could leave in two days...but if that's too soon for you we can just wait..." he trailed off.

"No, no. It's fine," she assured him, "afterall, you're the one taking me with you, so you get to do all the deciding."

Objecting to that was the first thing Cloud had planned on doing, but then he decided to avoid on anymore confrontation and just agree, after all he could just "decide" to do things the way they both wanted.

"Alright then, let's head back."

* * *

All throughout dinner Cloud had suddenly realized that taking Elmyra's only daughter might not be such a good idea. What if she got mad at him? What if she hated him afterwards? What if she forbid it? He had to admit, he really wanted Aeris to come along with him, he didn't want to be separated from another friend and possibly never see her again. Even though that had happened to Cloud all too often, he wouldn't let himself do it again, not with her at least. 

They hadn't told Elmyra yet, but Cloud knew Aeris would do it before dinner was over, and sure enough, she didn't have anything left on her plate...she had to do it now...

"Mom," she spoke softly. Elmyra looked up from her plate, "Yes?"

Aeris cleared her throat, "In two days, Cloud is...leaving."

Elmyra's eyes went wide and she looked towards Cloud, who in turn, looked down at his plate.

"You're leaving already?"

Damn, this was already going harder than he thought it would, "I...yeah. I think it's time I left. Truthfully, I wasn't even supposed to be in Midgar, but I'm glad I am. I really enjoyed staying here, and thank you for everything you've done." _"Oh yeah, and I'm taking your only daughter with me..."_

"Cloud! You're leaving too?" Marlene said, looking as though she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Elmyra sighed and shuffled the food on her plate around with her fork, "Well, in any case, I really liked having you around. I'm gonna miss ya, we all will. Right, Aeris?" she said turning to her daughter.

The appologetic look on Aeris' face instantly told Elmyra that something was wrong. "Aeris?...what is it?"

Aeris wasn't too sure on how to tell her mother that she was leaving, it had seemed easier when she had gone over it in her head. Now all she could do was refuse eye contact and fidget with her napkin.

Elmyra tried looking to Cloud for help but he pulled almost the exact same stunt; looking away and biting his lip.

Inhaling heavily, Elmyra closed her eyes, "Alirght you two, what's going on?" she asked calmly.

Both were still unsure of what to say, leaving the room silent for a bit longer, but Aeris was first to respond, "Well," she started hesitantly, "You know...that Cloud is leaving and...well, I'm going with him."

Elmyra accidentally dropped her fork onto the table and starred wide mouthed a the two of them.

For at least a minute, no one said anything, that is until Marlene chimed in, "You mean everyone is leaving! Where are you going?" she demanded, looking like a mixture between stunned, furious and just downright sad.

"We're not sure yet." Cloud mumbled.

"Mom? Are you upset? I mean if you don't want me to go, I can stay-"

"No!" Elmyra objected. Aeris looked a little taken back, "Don't stay here! Are you crazy?"

Now she was confused, "I...wait. You _want_ me to leave?"

Elmyra set her elbows up on the table and linked her hands together so she could prop her chin up on them, "Well, it's not like I'm thrilled about you not living here anymore," she stated simply, "but, it'll be good for you."

"What do you mean?" Aeris asked.

"Well, first off, you've never left Midgar. You can't go your whole life without seeing outside of this dump. Although, most common people usually never get to travel, it's much too dangerous."

"Then why are you so sure about letting me go?"

Elmyra chuckled, "Because, Cloud will be with you." she said, focusing her gaze on him. He immediately turned a slight shade of red and tried to look away.

Aeirs grinned, "Mom, you used to get edgy when I walked around the slums with Zack."

Elmyra shrugged, "Cloud's not Zack now is he? I trust him and I know he won't let anything happen to you." she said flatly.

This caused Cloud's face to go an even deepr shade of crimson.

"And plus, the Turks will never find you. Better yet, don't even tell me where you're going, then I'll have nothing to tell them!"

"Not a bad idea Mom." Aeris agreed.

_"She's actually allowing this? I don't believe it! I mean, yeah it's great but I expected het to put up a fight...maybe? Well, there really is nothing here for Aeris. I guess Elmyra sees that...but what about Marlene?"_ Cloud thought to himself while Elmyra and Aeris continued to discuss things, _"Everyone is leaving her...I feel bad..." _

Cloud looked across to the table to the little four-year old that sat quietly, frowning at her plate. He pushed himself out from the table and stood up. Neither Aeris or Elmyra seemed to notice, they were to engaged in conversation. Cloud stepped over to Marlene and pulled out a chair and took a seat beside her.

She looked up at him, a few tears lined her eyes.

"I'll be back sometime. I'll come see you."

"...you will?" Marlene sniffled, holding back tears.

"Yeah, I will...but I'm not sure when. Maybe your Dad and Tifa will be back before I do though."

"I hope so...I miss them, and I'm gonna miss you and Aeris..."

Cloud didn't say anything, he really didn't know what he could say to cheer her up.

"...but atleast I still have Aunt Elmyra. She takes care for me too. I like being with her."

Cloud smiled, "She likes being with you too, don't worry about it."

Marlene grinned at him, and without warning, jumped on him and gave him a hug.

Cloud's eyes widened with surprise, and froze for a second, not knowing what to do. Hesitantly, he lightly wrapped an arm around her, which was more than enough to supposrt her and just let her sit there.

Only a few minutes passed before the two girls on the other side of the table stopped talking and noticed Cloud and Marlene, who had actually fallen asleep.

"She was outside playing all day...I knew she wouldn't be up much longer." Elmyra said. "Do you want me to take her downstairs?" she offered.

Cloud shook his head, "No, it's fine, I'll take her." he said, standing up slowly and gripping onto the sleeping child a little better. He carefully made his way downstairs and tried not to wake her.

Cloud shut the door that lead to the downstairs behind him and walked over to the fold out couch that was still in bed form. He reached down and pulled out the blankets with one arm and then gently lay Marlene down. He then pulled the blankets back over her to keep her warm and flicked on a lamp.

Cloud sighed and walked quietly back up the stairs and into the kitchen where Aeris and Elmyra were still sitting...except when he returned, they were staring at him, grinning like they had something planned...

_"Do I even want to know...?"_

Cloud shifted his gaze between the two, but still, no one said anything. Maybe it was better that way.

"I don't even wanna know." he stated, and began heading up to his bedroom.

He heard Aeris laugh and get up from her seat behind him. "Cloud wait." she grabbed his arm. He looked down at her, asking a silent, "Why?"

"Just...come back over here for a minute." she instructed, leading him away from the stairs and sitting him down at the table.

Cloud gave each Elmyra and and Aeris shifty eyes once more, "What are you guys doing?"

Elmyra raised a finger to him, indicating for him to wait a moment as she retreated from her seat and knelt down near the cupboard under the sink. The sound of random objects clanging and brushing against once another could be heard. Cloud moved his head to the side to try and get a look at what she was doing, but he couldn't see a thing.

"Ah...there it is." Elmyra said to herself. "What are you doing down there?" Cloud asked, curiously.

"Well, I figured you two are only going to be here for two more nights..." she answered, still fiddling around in the cupboard. "Plus!" she said, finally standing up, "I can't remember the last time I got totally smashed!"

Cloud propped an elbow onto the table and pressed his forehead against his palm and let out a laugh when he noticed a huge bottle of vodka in Elmyra's hand.

"Come to think of it, neither have I." Aeris added in. "And...I know you haven't drank since you've been here. Am I right Cloud?" she nudged him lightly with her elbow.

He nodded, face still in his hand, looking at the table.

"Ah, come on Cloud, it'll be fun!" Elmyra assured him, sitting back down at the table and sliding him a glass.

Giving in, Cloud lifted his head grinned to himself, _"This is going to be interesting..." _

"Alright, fine." he agreed, standing up and removing his gloves, along with his shoulder guard.

He sat back down and poured himself a drink and decided to relax. He would worry about leaving when they left, but not tonight.

"How about we play some cards?" Aeris suggested, watching Cloud take quite a generous "sip" out of his glass.

"Yeah sure, I'm up for cards." Elmyra agreed, pouring both her and Aeris drinks, "What about you Cloud?"

Hmmm...he hadn't played cards in a while. Not since he was in Soldier. All the guys used to gather and play in the bar in whatever town they were in. It was kinda like a tradition, one that he was very good at.

"Alright, cards sound good. What are we playing, it's up to you."

"Hmm..." Aeris pondered, twidling a strand of hair around her finger and looking up to the ceiling, "How about we play..."

"Let's just play poker." Elmyra cut in.

Aeris smiled, "Yeah alright. Cloud?"

"Huh?" Cloud looked to see her staring at him, waiting for an approval, "Oh...um yeah sure...either way," he grinned, "I'm still kicking your asses."

"Oh is that so?" Aeris raised an eyebrow.

"I think it is." Cloud responded smugly, taking another "sip" of his drink and leaning back in his chair comfortably while placing his free arm over the chair and letting it hang down.

"With the way you're drinking, you won't even be able to see the cards by the third hand." she pointed at his almost empty glass as she shuffled the cards and began to deal them out.

Cloud closed his eyes, "Oh how you underestimate me."

_"This is gonna be funny..." _

* * *

"So? Elmyra, Aeris? It is now ten hands in and if I am not mistaken, neither of you have won a single one of them. Am I correct?" Cloud asked teasingly. 

It was true. Ten hands and neither of them had come very close to winning, plus it didn't help that after about three drinks, the two of them were already feeling the affects of the alcohol in their system.

Cloud on the other hand, had a little more then double what they had and was just starting to get into a good mood.

"Alright, that's it!" Aeris grabbed the cards and started shuffling them again. Cloud said nothing and just chuckled.

"This time," she pointed to him, "You're gonna...you're gonna.." she slurred her words as she tried to pull off her jacket and the elastics in her hair. "You're gonna lose...this time." Aeris finished, running her hands through her hair to make it look decent. "I have a new t-tactic that will be IMPOSSIBLE to beat!" she bragged enthusiastically.

"If looking pretty and trying to distract me is your new tactic, then it won't work."

Aeris laughed, "Pfft! No, that wasn't it...but why wouldn't it though...?" she trailed off, and then let out a gasp and stared at Cloud as seriously as possibly without letting out a laugh, "Is it...is it because you're...you're gay?"

Elmyra lost it at that and threw her head back with laughter, lightly pouding her fist on the table and taking another drink.

"No..." Cloud said grinning and leaning in closer to Aeris, cupping her chin with one of his hands, "It's actually just because I can stare at your pretty little face all I want and still concentrate on what I'm doing." He let her face go and finished off his drink, leaving Aeris to deal out the cards with an obvious blush evident on her face.

_"Whoa...where did that come from? Stupid idiot!" _Cloud cursed himself_, "...don't be forward like that...especially when Elmyra is right here. Must be the stupid alcohol kicking in..." _he thought, surprised with himself.

"Alright! I'll take three cards!" Elmyra announced louder than she should have.

"Mom, k-keep it down will ya?" Aeris asked, tossing her a few cards from the top of the pile. Elmyra retreived the cards and flipped them over, leaving her with a disgusted look. So much for a poker face.

"And how many for you?" Aeris asked, staring down Cloud, not taking her eyes off him.

"Two." he responded, keeping his own vibrant blue eyes against her deep green ones.

She picked two card up off the top of the pile and slide them across the table to him, and in turn picked up three of her own.

Glancing at her cards quickly and looking right back up, Aeris gave Cloud a proud smile, "Well?"

"I win." he said blankly.

Aeris sighed and slouched in her chair, "That's impossible." she stated, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "You haven't even seen my cards...or yours for that matter!" she laughed.

"I know." Cloud admitted, still not breaking eye contact. "But, I told you I could win and keep my eyes on you the whole time. I have to go through with it."

"Hey, but you still don't know if you've won." Elmyra, who had already thrown her cards down in defeat, pointed out.

"I have four of a kind. She only has a full house."

Aeris looked down and double checked her cards, and then back up at Cloud in disbelief, "How the hell did you know that? Let me see your cards!" she demanded, reaching across the table and prying them out of his hands.

True to his word, there were four fives and a queen sitting on the table.

Cloud smiled, "See. I win." he said again, still locking eyes with her.

"Ok! No more cards!" Elmyra stood up and flung all the cards off the table and onto the floor in a drunken, awkward sort of way.

"Well, now what?" Aeris asked, looking towards her mother.

Elmyra shrugged, "B-beats me...how bout' nothin' at all?"

* * *

A few hours had passed before the three had polished off the bottle. Cloud was surprised neither of them had woken Marlene...they were all laughing pretty damn hard, even himself, which almost never happened. They had each told their share of embarrassing moments and secrets, although the girls were more open then Cloud was. 

Of course, Aeris and Elmyra were much more intoxicated than he was as well. It took a lot more alcohol then what he had to get him totally plastered.

Elmyra looked like she was ready to pass out, even though they were all still in the middle of conversation. Aeris was still pretty awake. She sat sideways on her chair which was pushed up directly against Cloud's and was using his shoulder as a back rest for the past hour.

It was past two in the morning when Elmyra finally decided to head off for the night.

"O...ok..I think I need...uhh, need sleep. You two..." she slurred, pointing to Cloud and Aeris, "You two...don't stay up too late...go to, go to bed soon!" she finished and stumbled up the stairs, leaving the two in a small fit of laughter.

Cloud stretched his arms above his head and yawned, "I think she might be right...we shouldn't stay up too late."

"Yeah...ok." Aeris agreed, standing up.

They both started walking up the stairs. Aeris stumbled a few times, but Cloud had been directly behind her and able to grab onto her.

After the long trip up the "mountain" of stairs, the two stopped in the hallway.

"Good night Aeris." Cloud said.

Aeris smiled at him and gave a little wave, "You...you too."

Just as they were both about to part ways, a loud rumbling noise shook the house.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Cloud asked as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Elmyra.

"I-it's thunder...it won't really do anything because the plate is here...but..." she trailed off.

"But what?" Cloud questioned, stepping closer to her.

"I hate it. It scares me...ever since I was little, I can never get to sleep." she said with a worried look on her face.

"Hey...don't worry about it." Cloud tried to reassure her.

Aeris looked towards him and chewed on her lip, "Do you think..." she started, obviously still contemplating on something, "Do you think...you can stay here with me? I mean, just for a little bit?"

Cloud stared at her. Everything was still spinning. Did he hear her right, or did he have too much to drink? "O-ok.." he answered clumsily as another rumble shook the house.

Aeris smiled at him gratefully and grasped his hand in hers and pulled him into her bedroom, shutting the door quietly.

* * *

The moment the door had closed, there was another loud rumble and Cloud felt Aeris jump and squeeze his hand tighter. 

"Hey..." he said softly, "It's alright, it's just thunder."

"Y-yeah...you're right." she agreed hesitantly, pulling him over to her bed in a not so graceful manner.

_"God...she is so drunk...ugh, so am I. I have to be careful...this cannot turn out bad." _

Cloud promised himself he wouldn't do anything that neither of them wouldn't do while sober...then wait? Why couldn't he stop himself when she pulled him into her bed?

"Can you...you s-stay here till' I fall asleep?"

Cloud nodded, propping himself up against the headboard and spread his legs out on the bed. Wow...this was comfy...compared to the kitchen chair he had been sitting in for so long.

Getting caught up in the sudden relaxation that had just hit his body, he had almost failed to notice Aeris who had already climbed up on the bed with him and situated herself in his lap. And, seeing as how there wasn't much more room for him to put his hands, Cloud was "forced" to place them around her waist. She apparantly didn't mind at all, seeing as she covered her hands with his and leant back into his chest. He responded by tightening his grip and pulling her closer.

_"Hmm...I feel uncomfortable...why?"_ Cloud tried to pick out something that was missing from when he usually slept, _"Oh right..." _

"Um, hold on a minute...I just have to..." he sat up slightly, and Aeris turned around, "What's wrong?"

"Oh...it's um..my vest, it bugs me when I sleep...do you mind?"

She giggled at him and shook her head, "Not at all, here..." Aeris turned around a little more so they were directly facing each other and pulled at the zipper on his vest. She then pushed it off his shoulders so he could take it off easier and tossed it to the floor.

"Thanks."

She smiled at him, "Better?"

"Yeah."

"Good..." she responded, chewing on her lip and looking him up and down, quite noticably.

Cloud moved his face closer to hers, "Are you checking me out?" he asked, amusedly.

"Maybe." she grinned.

"And why might that be?" he questioned, cocking his head to the side, bceoming aware that she had managed to shift closer to him.

"Because, you're sexy."

"And you're _quite_ drunk."

"So? The only difference is that when I'm drunk I actually tell you what I'm thinking everytime I look at you."

_"Oh...so there's more...?"_ Cloud thought mischieviously. _"No. Don't ask. For the love of god, have some restraint. She is your _friend_. A drunk one at that, just leave it." _

_"But..." _Another part of his brain began to argue_, "She's your hot friend. And besides, it's kind of hard to resist when she's touching you like that..."_

She is? Oh god, she is.

Sure enough, they had both managed to position themselves so Clouds leg was bent up and Aeris was leaning against it while being supported by one of his arms. She had also started to absently trace her finger along his chest and abdomen and it felt a little more than just nice. Thank god Cloud noticed that she was beginning to fall asleep...come to think of it, so was he.

He was sure neither of them were even paying attention to the thunder anymore. _"Hmm...I wonder if she'll remember this in the morning...? Oh well, guess I'll just have to wait and see."_ Cloud's last thoughts drifted out of his mind as sleep took both of them over.

* * *

And there you have it! Chapter 7! I hope you guys like it. I tried to make it fun haha, I hope it worked. Anyway, please rview guys...gimme atleast 10! It'll boost my confidence and mae me want to write more!

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	8. Chapter 8

I'm too lazy to make disclaimers anymore, everyone knows that I own nothing, leave me be! So yeah it's been a while I suppose, but school is retarded. Sorry for the delay though. (for those who care :) )

* * *

It had been a few years since he'd felt a headache like this. Not since he spent his nights in the bars with the rest of the Soldier's almost every night. Oh god, everything was spinning already. His eyes were barely even open yet and he could still see the room rotating at an alarming speed, atleast, that's what it seemed to be doing. 

Cloud let out an aggrivated groan and squeezed his eyes shut again, hoping that it would do some good, like magically make him fall asleep again, or get rid of that headache...or even put some food in his stomach which felt like it was tied in a huge knot.

_'Hey, maybe Aeris has curative magic for hangovers...that would be just great.'_

Yes, that would be just plendid. There would be no need to be feeling like shit while trying to get prepared for tomorrow.

_'Ugh...I should get up and showered. Aeris is probably waiting for me anyway...'_

Cloud willed himself to actually try and move his body which felt unusually heavy right now...even for being tired, and sore. Wait a minute...

_'Oh god.' _the blonde swallowed hard and stopped attempting to get up. No wonder he felt so heavy.

Aeris wasn't downstairs waiting for him at all, she was comfortably curled up in his lap, resting her head up against his bare chest.

Cloud cautiously brought his hands up off the bed and rubbed his face. He didn't want to move too much, he wasnt really sure what to do right now, seeing as how his memory was quite fuzzy.

Cloud brought his hands slowly back down near the bed and gripped the covers that were covering Aeris and himself, he then inhaled deeply and gently pulled them down.

_'Well good,'_ he exhaled, _'we're still wearing clothes...well she is.'_ Cloud eyed the floor beside the bed and noticed his vest lying there carelessly. He didn't really remember throwing it there. Oh well.

Laying his head back down on the pillow once more, Cloud decided it would be best just to rest a little longer.

It wasn't long before he actually got to thinking though, despite the massive headache he had. Seeing Aeris there, laying with him, gripping onto him while she slept peacefully. It didn't feel weird, or strange, instead it just felt...normal. And, not to mention that strange "first day attraction" he had felt with her was slowly creeping back into his mind.

Cloud had thought he had gotten rid of that after the first week, although it didn't surprise him that he was feeling this way. Somewhere in the back of his head, he knew it never went away. He just chose to ignore it, for both his and Aeris sake. There was no use in ruining or making an awkward situation out of an already good relationship. That was one thing he refused to risk, but Cloud knew that if they continued to get closer like this, it would only get worse. Or would it be better? He didn't know if it was good or bad, but he had no idea of the way Aeris felt towards him, and he much preferred it that way. At least then there was no complications, or rejections.

God he just wished his headache would go away.

But suddenly he didn't care anymore when he felt Aeris stir on top of him. Cloud held himself still, not wanting to be the cause to wake her. She was still sleeping, or so he assumed. He watched as she took in a breath and snuggled up to him more, wrapping her arms around his middle and exhaling against him.

Cloud continued to stare at her. He swallowed hard as a warm fuzzy feeling began to form in his stomach with each passing second the flower girl continued to latch onto him. She didn't stay like that for long though. Shortly after she had stopped moving, Aeris started unconsciously stretching and yawning.

_'Wait a minute...'_ A thought had suddenly popped into Cloud's head,_ 'how is it going to look if she wakes up and I'm just sitting here...staring at her?'_ so, he did the first thing that came to mind; he closed his eyes and acted as if he were still sleeping.

Cloud felt Aeris' weight lift off of him. She looked around absently and yawned, seeming oblivious to Cloud's presence in her bed. But not for long. She dropped her hands down and relaxed them. One fell on the bed, but she turned around when she felt one of her hands come into contact with Cloud's upper leg.

Cloud himself felt himself tense up at the unintentional contact, but he hoped she wouldn't notice. He'd look pretty stupid if she knew he was awake. Truthfully, if it were anyone else he would have just made it known to them that he wasn't sleeping, but for some reason, he wanted to she what she would do about the whole thing. Why? He didn't know.

When Aeris had turned around and found Cloud "asleep" behind her, she seemed confused, like she didn't remember. But it didn't take her long before last night had begun to register in her head. She then smiled at him, passed out, looking completely content.

"...Oww..." Cloud heard her mumble softly. He cracked one eye open slightly to see what was wrong and found Aeris rubbing her temples with her fingers. Cloud mentally smiled to himself, he knew he wasn't going to be the only one hungover this morning.

Aeris sighed and stopped massaging her head, and instead held her fingers firm on her temples and allowed her white magic to flow through her hands with ease. It didn't take a lot for her to make a simple ailment all better.

After she had finished making herself feel as good as new, Aeris took the liberty of facing Cloud again and gently placed her hand upon his forehead and proceeded to heal him as well. He instantly felt as good as new, and now that his hangover was dealt with, Cloud suddenly felt tired once again and decided he was just going to go right back to sleep.

He felt Aeris shfting around on the bed again, assuming she was getting up, but he was taken by surprise when she grabbed the covers and turned on her side. She placed her head back down on Cloud's chest and nuzzled back into the position she had been in before.

Cloud felt his heartbeat speed up, hell he could practically hear it. He hoped Aeris didn't.

"...Cloud?"

Too late.

"...Mmmhmm...?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"...No." Cloud mumbled quietly, still keeping his eyes shut.

"Did...did you want me to move?" she asked.

"No. You can stay there." Aeris heard him reply before she felt one of his arms slide around her waist, keeping her in place.

She was glad Cloud's eyes were closed because she felt her face turn red, "Ok. Thanks."

"Just don't drool on me." he joked.

Aeris chuckled and closed her eyes, "Don't worry I won't."

Cloud soon felt her body relax and her breathing remain slow and heavy, letting him know she was asleep. He sighed deeply and relaxed himself. After sleeping like this, his bed was going to start to feel awful lonely, but he decided to worry about that later and fell right back to sleep.

* * *

"Oh my!" Elmyra stumbled out of bed, "What time is it?" she said to herself, glancing at her bedside clock. 

"12:30!" she gasped in surprise, "Oh no! Today is Aeris' last day here and I've already wasted the whole morning."

Fumbling out of the bedroom and hurrying down the stairs, Elmyra bounded into the kitchen looking for her daughter, and, surprisingly, found nothing.

_"They better not have went out today...I'll just check downstairs first." _she decided and made her way to the entrance of the basement.

"Marlene?" Elmyra called to the child sitting on the couch, cuddled up in blankets and watching tv.

She turned her head to face the woman by the stairs, "Hi Aunt Elmyra."

Elmyra smiled and sat down on the couch next to her, "You seen Aeris this morning?"

Marlene shook her head, "Nope, I got up real early, but no one came downstairs. Everyone was still sleeping, you're the first one up, wanna watch cartoons with me?"

Elmyra patted her on the head, "Maybe in a little bit, I'm gonna go wake those two sleepyheads up ok?"

* * *

"Gosh I wonder how late those two stayed up last night?" 

Elmyra was halfway up the stairs when that thought hit her. She had told them to sleep soon or else _this_ would happen. Figures. She just wanted to spend the last full they were here day with Aeris.

"Well, atleast they were having fun I suppose." she smiled to herself as she landed her foot on the top step, forcing an awkward creaking sound out of it.

"Phew, still a little dizzy." she noticed while turned the small corner that led to Cloud's room.

"Cloud?" Elmyra knocked softly.

No answer.

She knocked harder, "Clouuuuud?"

Nothing.

"Good god, that boy sleeps like a log."

Elmyra opened the door quietlyand slowly, just a crack, to make sure she didn't walk in on him uncovered and unclothed. Aeris had told her about a little mishap that happened last week where she had barged into his room, insisting that 2 o'clock was just too late of a time to get up. Little did she know, he had thought of the same thing and had gotten up to shower twenty minutes ago without her knowing.

Needless to say she walked in on him undoing the towel he had on...and nothing else... Elmyra of course had a good laugh, so did Aeris, despite her being sightly embarrassed...she didn't seem too remorseful of the whole thing though.

"Cloud!" Elmyra whispered loudly through the door. When no one answered yet again, she sighed and pushed the door open.

Empty.

"Where the hell did he go?" There were no showers running, his boots were in here. He wasn't with Marlene - Ohhhh! Elmrya felt her mouth drop in realization, but managed to pull it back up with a grin and tiptoed over to Aeris' room.

She turned the doorknob as slowly as she could, so as not to awaken either of the two that she presumed were in there. The door opened silently and Elmyra pushed her face to the small crack in the door to see Cloud and Aeris, fast asleep together, tangled in the blankets and each other's arms.

While her first intention had been simply to run in and make them embarrassed to no end, Elmyra suddenly had a change of heart. Sighing and smiling, she closed the door gently and headed back down the stairs.

Marlene was waiting for her at the table when she arrived, wanting some breakfast no doubt. Elmyra immediately went to work on that.

"Did you find them?" Marlene piped up, fiddling around with a napkin.

"Yeah I did," she replied, reaching into the top cupboard, "They're still sleeping."

"Why didn't you jump on them and wake them up?" Marlene inquired, after all, that's the way she'd have it done."

Elmyra smiled, "I just thought they needed more sleep, don't worry they won't be too much longer." she assured.

Marlene placed both hands on her cheeks and rested her elbows on the table, "But I wanna see them lots before they leave." she pouted.

Stopping what she was doing, Elmyra walked over to the table and took a seat, "I know, me too," he confessed, stroking Marlene's hair, "but don't worry, they'll come back and visit remember?"

"Remember?"

"...Yeah...I remember."

Elmyra smiled, "There, see, they won't be gone forever, now what do you say I make us some sweet chocolate chip pancakes?"

Marlene's eyes lit up like she had completely forgetten the last five minutes, "Ok!"

* * *

Aeris stirred and awoke. Somehow she knew she should have closed those damn blinds last night. Stupid light. She didn't know how much longer she had slept for. Right now she didn't really care either...neither did Cloud as it seemed, since he was still sleeping, and his his hand was still wrapped securly around her waist. Somehow this didn't seem like the position two "friends" would be caught in. 

_'I really don't mind though...but I should be getting up.'_

Aeris lifted her head off of Cloud's chest and stretched as much as she could with him still holding her. She looked down at his sleeping form, he looked like there was nothing in the world that could wake him up right now, but Aeris figured she might as well try.

"Cloud." she whispered.

He didn't move.

She rolled her eyes and brough her face closer to his and moved her lips nearer to his ear, "Clouuuuud."

"...ugh..."

"Wake up..."

Cloud felt the hairs on his neck stand and a slight shiver run down his spine. Feeling Aeris leaning over his full form and her warm breath tickling his ear and neck this early in the morning was a little too much for him to handle right now.

"...I'm up."

She pulled away from him. Great, now he felt cold.

"I'm pretty sure it's past noon, and if mom gets restless, she WILL come in here." Aeris warned.

"Yeah...I know." Cloud mumbled, opening his eyes and turning to face her.

"Good, cause if it wasn't for you, I'd be up already." she teased, poking his stomach.

"Ah, hey!" he protested as she kept poking him, "...ugh...cut it out."

"Get up then."

Cloud swiped at her hands with tired relfexes. It wasn't working, "I will! I just - '_Ah forget it...'_" he pressed the sides of his knees lightly into her waist, but enough to hold her secure, earning him a surprised gasp from her. While she was startled, Cloud quickly gripped her shoulders and moved to roll her. Out of reflex, she became startled and grabbed a hold of his neck as he pinned her underneath him..

"There, now how do you like it huh?" he asked.

"I like it just fine." _'oops.'_ Areis mentally slapped herself. _'just cause you were thinking it, doesn't mean you should have said it! Stupid!'_

Cloud looked at her, and it wasn't hard to see that he was a little taken back, but he could see she looked the same way.

_'She probably didn't mean to say that...don't read into it...'_

He tried to tell himself, but that didn't stop his lower half from unconsciously shifting slightly.

At the sudden contact, he felt Aries' fingers press more firmly on his neck, holding him tighter.

'We have to get up. We have to get up...'

He was thinking it, but other thoughts were preventing him from acutually saying it.

_'Just say it!'_

"...I...we should...get up." he breathed heavily. At first Aeris didn't even say anything to him, she just stared at him, and he knew if she did any longer, it would lead to him not getting up...well...he would, but not in the way that he wanted to.

"Yeah..." she finally spoke, dropping her hands off his neck, letting her fingers slide down the sides, making him shiver again.

Cloud somehow managed to take his hands away from their resting position on the bed on either side of her head and sat up. he then crawled off the bed and reached down on the floor and grabbed his shirt.

"I'm gonna go eat breakfast and then shower, after that I'll start packing and head into Wallmarket.." he said, keeping his back to her while he threw on his vest.

"Sounds good..." she said blankly.

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut with frustration, _'Oh no...that didn't sound good. What did I do? I upset her. Fuck.'_

He turned around to see her sitting on the other side of the bed looking at the window. Cloud crawled onto the bed with one knee and grasped her waist with his arm and pulled her across the bed, prseeing her back to his chest.

"Well, if you're upset about it I _guess_ it would be ok if we both eat breakfast...seeing as it is your house. And I _suppose_ you need to pack your stuff too And if you really don't wanna sit in the house all day, I _guess_ it would be ok if you came to Wallmarket with me..." he joked, she didn't think he meant _just_ him did she?

Aeris giggled, she should have known better that after what just happened he wouldn't make it awkward and jusrt distance himself from her. "And what about the shower?"

_'Oh god...did she just say that?' _

Cloud moved his mouth toward her ear, "Well, if you really want to, I _guess_..."

* * *

Eeek! Sorry! I did NOT mean to keep this story on such a long break. And I'm sorry for making the chapter so short too, but I just wanted to get it done with just to let whoever cares know that I haven't stopped writing it. Please review!

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Leave me be! I'm not trying to steal anything! I'm just bored! I own nothing.

Note to Kixo: Sure I can send you the whole story, just write your email on a review or something, and I'll get it to you. (Is this me cheating my way to another review? That's for me to know, and you to review.)

* * *

The day had started off a little awkward for the both of them. True, nothing had actually happened, and that was "fine" but then Cloud had finally come to the conclusion that Aeris was a damn tease. Whether she was conscious about it or not, he didn't know, he didn't really care anyway since he decided it wasn't really all that bad. 

It was a forced habit for Cloud to feel rejection. Something he had carried with him since his childhood, when none of the kids wanted to play with him and none of the girls liked him. Eventually of course it did change, but not completely.

Back when he was in Soldier, frequent visits to the bar were no stranger to him and the rest of his squad. Needless to say, there were quite a few women who had literally grabbed him and dragged him to the inn without so much as an introduction. But that of course, was the complete opposite of what one would call a "relationship." To this day, Cloud had never been in one.

That fear of rejection and confusion from when he was younger never left him, he assumed because nothing had ever proven it to be false. So, he of course, automatically pushed the fact of Aeris having feelings towards him away. Sure there had been a few split second thoughts of, "but maybe..." but nothing more.

Instead, Cloud took every hinting comment and every physical touch, no matter how trivial it was, as nothing more than a "friendship touch", and he treasured them all the same.

Truth be told. he wasn't used to daily contact like most people. Hugs, holding hands, anything that people endured on a daily basis as teenagers and even now, he never had it, and when he received it, he enjoyed it. He didn't brush it off as nothing. Cloud managed to actually feel wanted. Unlike when he was near most people who said he didn't talk enough, or that he just acted cold towards everyone, or when he did speak it usually wasn't very nice. He also enjoyed knowing that she obviously liked it to some extent as well, even if it was only just a sign of friendship to her. He knew perfectly well that's what it was, but that didn't stop him from having to hold his breath at every brush of skin while they walked past each other, or from having to actually make himself let go when she would link arms with him, or hug him.

Cloud really didn't think it would get to this point. He was usually able to just take hold of his feelings and pin them down in a dark corner where they left him alone. He had learned of his mistakes with Tifa. She had been his first real crush. They had been twelve at the time, and while most of the kids his age had been through three or four "boyfriends and girlfriends", he had none, and only felt for Tifa. He never really understood how someone could like someone, and then feel equal feelings for someone else a week later. How did that work?

Either way, she never returned his feelings, nor did anyone ever show any feelings toward him. This was when Cloud decided that it would be best to just keep his feelings to himself. It got less complicated that way. And so far, it had worked quite well. Up until now that is.

As much as he enjoyed her contact, and company, and knew it meant nothing like he wanted it to, it was getting to hard for him. Cloud was just going to keep digging himself in deeper. And he didn't really care.

Back to what was actually going on now. Cloud had realized that sometime during his thinking, he had finished packing all his clothes and belongings. It felt kinda weird to actually have clothes to take somewhere. Usually he had the same outfit, and washed it at every inn he came to. Aeris had convinced him to get more clothing, change it up a little. Which of course he did, but not really. He kept the same style and same colours mostly, but he had to admit, it did feel relaxing not having to wear the same thing every day.

Along with his clothes Cloud had his sword of course, a few hygenic supplies, like he always had, a few materia, and lastly, the few items they picked up in Wallmarket earlier that day. He went to check on Aeris to find that she had about three times as much luggage as he did. Leaning on the doorframe to her room, Cloud crossed his arms and watched her silently. She was quite unaware of his presence and continued to fold clothes and pack as much items into each bag until the zippers flew off.

As Aeris strode over to her closet, Cloud followed her every move with his eyes. She opened the closet door and stretched her arm high above her head trying to reach a small box on the top shelf but couldn't quite reach it. He watched her blow a strand of hair out of her eye with annoyance and she continued to struggle up on the tips of her toes to reach that blasted box that couldn't just be an inch lower!

Cloud chuckled to himself lightly when he heard her groan with frustration. He uncrossed his arms and pulled himself away from the doorframe, walking silently over to the closet.

"Let me help you with that." Aeris almost jumped when she suddenly felt someone's body pressing lightly on her back, reaching up over her head and grabbing the box she had struggled for with ease. She relaxed of couse, when she realized it was only Cloud, being helpful, as he usually was and turned around, almost jumping back when she realized they were so close that her nose touched his chest.

When he pulled the box down and handed it to her, he stepped back a bit to allow her some room.

"Thank you." she said genuinely and flashed him a quick smile before returning to her suitcase.

"You know," Cloud turned to the direction that she was walking in, "We really don't have room for all of that. Sorry to say."

Aeris finished zipping up her bag and stood up straight, facing him, "Chocobo carriages are huge, they could fit like five more of these." she pointed out.

Cloud closed his eyes and shook his head lightly, "We're not taking any chocobo carriages."

Aeris stared at him with confusion written amongst her gentle features, "What are we taking then?"

"I stashed my by bike in the third sector before I hopped on the train to do my first mission with Barret. There's no way in hell I'm leaving it here. If you take a few things out of your bag, we'll have no problem fitting both of our belongings."

Aeris took a seat on her bed and reluctantly began to remove various things out of the bag, "By bike...do you mean like...motorcycle?" she inquired, eyes glowing.

Cloud chuckled and began heading toward the door, "Well I'm not going to be pedaling us around the continent now am I? Come on downstairs as soon as your done. I wanna get outta here before the sun goes down." and with that, he walked out of the room, leaving an ecstatic Aeris. She had never been on a motorcycle before. Now she was going to get to travel on one!

_'Maybe if I'm good he'll let me drive sometime?'_ she hoped, throwing a few more articles out of her bag before zipping it up, taking one last look at her room before she headed out the door.

* * *

"Aeris are you SURE you have everything?" Elmyra asked for the seventh time. 

"Yes mom, I have everything, and besides, even if I didn't there'd be no more room anyway." she chuckled.

"I don't want you guys to go!" Marlene interupted, jogging over to Aeris and latching her arms powerfully around her legs.

She looked at the young girl sympathetically, "Marlene, don't worry, I'll come back and visit. Cloud will too." she promised, eyeing Cloud, who nodded.

"See? Not so bad, and besides, I'm pretty sure your dad will be calling soon."

"I know, but still..." Marlene protested in muffles against the fabric of Aeris' dress.

It had become quite cleat that she didn't want to let go anytime soon, leaving Elmyra to come and step in, picking Marlene up from around the waist and sitting her on the table.

"Well," she sighed, "I suppose you two should get going. You don't want to be traveling the fields during the night."

"We're not making it to Kalm by nightfall." Cloud informed her, sheathing his sword onto his back and hoisting his and Aeris' bags up off the floor.

Elmyra placed her hands on her hips, "So when do I get a call home then?" she asked, agitated.

"Mom, you can't be expecting to call you daily do you? I'll do it when I get the chance, I promise, but what if we're camping out for like weeks at a time?" Aeris said, watching her mother's eyes widen.

"W-weeks? You two will be out there all alone for weeks? But it's so dangerous. I should have thought this through more...maybe you shoudn't go..."

"Mom!"

"Ah! Nevermind, this is your choice, not mine. Get outta here before I change my mind." she ordered, pulling Aeris in for a strong hug. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry Mom, I will. I'll send you anything that I find interesting ok?"

"Sounds good. Come here Cloud." Elmyra released her daughter and waved Cloud over, who gave a small sigh and placed the bags down.

He walked over to Elmyra and returned the hug she gave him.

"If there was anyone that I had to leave her with it would be you. I know you won't let anything happen to her."

"I won't."

"Good, now hurry up and get outta here."

* * *

Naturally, both Elmyra and Marlene had insisted on about five more hugs each after the "last goodbye". It had been almost dusk by the time they left the third sector. 

"You're not falling asleep back there are you?" Cloud spoke over the howling wind whisping past them.

"Not at all, I'm just enjoying the scenery." Aeris responded, wrapping her arms tighter around Cloud's waist.

"You're right, the sun looks nice when it's setting over the flat plains." he agreed, shifting his gaze from the road to her, briefly.

"Which kinda reminds me, we're out in the open. I think I'm gonna head off the road and look for somewhere to stay." Cloud continued.

"You don't like traveling at night?" Aeris questioned as they veered off the main road and onto a thick dirt trail.

"I don't really mind it when I'm alone, but I don't want to risk anything happening to you while careless night driving can be avoided." he explained a little quieter seeing as how the wind died down once they had proceeded off of the open fields.

If she was able to have it her way, Aeris would have kept on driving, but she if she protested over something like this it would just be a pointless arguement. Especially with Cloud being the one actually driving the bike.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Yep. There's a small spot in a tiny clearing just up in those woods a few kilometres away that I usually stay in when I'm around this area. As far as I know, only one other person has been there."

"And how would you know that?"

Cloud chuckled, "The first time I stopped there, someone had made a clearing by a stream and a small fire pit. They even dragged some logs over for people to sit by the fire. Carved quite obviously into one of the logs was a big arrow pointing to inside the only hollow log there. When I reached into it, I found a small notebook."

Aeris smiled, "Really?"

Cloud turned back to glance at her again, "Yeah, a guy named Aiden left it there." he turned back around. "He just welcomed visiters to his "base camp" area and recommended good spots for fishing. So, I left him a note back saying thanks. No one else has moved the book or written in it out of all the times I've been there, but every once and a while Aiden writes back. I've never actually met him though."

"Well atleast that proves that there are still genuinely kind hearted people around here."

"That's true. And I'm pretty sure I already know most of them."

"You really do get around a lot don't you?" Aeris said, feeling a little envious.

"I do. I've met a lot of people. Most of them not bad at all, but given the situation, they would most likely do what's necessary to benefit themselves, and not do anything above and beyond for someone else for no reason." Cloud informed her.

"But you can't really blame them. Most of their lives are shitty enough as it is. It's rare to find someone who takes what they get and make the absolute most out of it and still find the time to make other people happy. Like you."

Aeris tensed up slightly against him, and was quite sure Cloud noticed too, "Like me?"

"Yeah." They were entering the forest now and were barely even moving, "I mean, you live in the slums of Midgar. That is the worst place I've ever seen, but you...you made it work for yourself, and your mom. You decorate your house, paint it up, actually you know, make it look like a "home", plant flowers and sell them to people. People who think it's impossible to do so, and maybe in that sense, giving them hope that although it seems impossible to get out of there, that they might actually be able to do it one day. Not only that but, you're always happy about somthing or other, as long as it's something good...and...you helped me. A lot. You didn't even know me and you allowed me into your home to live there. You also took care of Marlene for Barret and Tifa. You did all this and asked for nothing in return. I really admire you."

For a moment Aeris really didn't know what to say. That had to be one of the nicest, most appreciative things anyone had ever said to her. Ever. Not even Zack had said something to make her feel so content and actually happy with herself.

"You really think that, Cloud?"

"...Of course I do. And there wouldn't be anyone who wouldn't agree with me."

Good thing it was dark now. Aeris was almost positive that if she blushed any more her face might explode.

"I...thank you." she said, and paused, "Sorry if that's all I have, but I really don't know what else to say besides that."

"That's alright." he laughed a little, something he found himself doing more often, "I wasn't looking for you to thank me or anything really. Just thought I'd let you know."

"Well I'm glad you did."

"Good, and we're here." Cloud abruptly stopped the bike, a little too fast for his own liking. He had been too busy talking to realize they had made it to the clearing already, and the sun was just barely peeking out of the horizon.

He shut down the bike and climbed down, then brought a hand up for Aeris to grasp to help her off as well.

"There's nothing here but a trail and some trees and bushes." she pointed out after scanning their surroundings.

"Yeah, and if the clearing were right at this spot, a hell of a lot more people would come here don't ya think?"

Aeris blushed, "I guess it was kind of stupid for me to assume it was right here."

"Nah, now come on. Follow me." Cloud guestured with his hand as he walked straight into the bush, walking his bike by his side.

"Stay close," he ordered, slowing down for her to catch up and walk by his side, "the last thing I want to do is lose you in the woods."

"Is it far?" Aeris asked, pushing branches and sticks out of her face as they walked. They weren't even on a path for heaven's sake!

"Yeah, don't worry, I can see the fire from here." Cloud stopped, registering his own words in his head as Aeris stopped beside him. "Wait, fire. Someone is here."

"What should we do?" Aeris whispered.

Clous lowered his eyebrows, "No idea. If we're quiet, there's still no way we can stop ourselves from snapping twigs and crunching leaves, and it will make it sound like something is trying to sneak up on whoever is there. But at the same time, we don't know who exactly is there, I don't want it to be someone who is looking for a fight. It could be anyone." he sighed.

"I think..." Aeris started, trying to make sense of the situation, "we should make ourselves known...definately before we reach the area, so as not to alarm anyone there, and then, when we find out who it is we can deal with it then. As you said we don't know who we're dealing with and we can't sneak up."

Cloud nodded in response, "You're right."

They both started walking again, the fire becoming clearer with each step. When there became minimal trees in the way, Cloud spoke out, "Hello?"

They watched as a slightly startled figure looked in the bushes in their direction, "Hello?" Cloud said again as they continued to walk.

"Who's there?" a voice asked.

"Just travelers, two of us." Cloud answered as he and Aeris stepped out of the bushes.

"Why hello there!" The cheerful voice answered. It belonged to a man, who appeared to be the only one there. He had light brown hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail and a grey, longsleeve shift with a vest overtop of it. He also wore a seemingly large belt which sported tonnes of pockets and pouches. Over near one of the logs Cloud spotted a large backpack, obviously packed to no end, including cooking wear dangling from the outside. Ther was also already a tent set up near the fire as well.

_'Must be a journeyman, a merchant or something.'_ Cloud concluded.

The spirited man stuck his hand out to Cloud, "How are ya? Glad to have some company! Last two times I've came up to this here region, I ain't heard from my pal who always writes ya see! I was gettin' lonely! Name's Aiden."

"Aiden?" Cloud asked mechanically. He knew he had heard the first time, but the question popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"That's right!" he replied cheerfully, "and you are?"

"The one you haven't heard from."

It took Aiden a few seconds to comprehend what Cloud had meant before he finally realized, "Cloud!" he gave his head a little shake of surprise, "Well I'll be, it's good to meet ya!"

"You too." Cloud stuck out his hand to grasp the other man's, who shook it with utmost enthusiasm. "Sorry I haven't been here in a while. I've been living in Midgar for over a month."

"Midgar eh? That's where I'm, heading up to for a few weeks. Maybe two, two and a half. Don't know why you'd wanna stay there for more than that though. Not a very pleasant place." Aiden remarked, returning to his seat on the log. "Well, c'mon, have a seat Cloud. You too darlin'. Didn't catch your name by the way."

Cloud and Aeris placed their things beside the log and took a seat. "I'm Aeris." she said, reaching a hand across Cloud who was in the middle of her and Aiden.

"Good to meet ya. So, where are you two headed?"

Cloud shifted his gaze between Aiden and Aeris, "Uh...we're not exactly sure yet."

"Ahh, I see," Aiden strokes his small beard absently, "Just wingin' it eh? I did that for a while myself about ten years ago. Didn't really have anything goin' for me so I decided to see what was out there ya know? Maybe find something, anything, and anywhere for that matter that might make me happy."

"And did you?" Aeris piped up.

"Well sure! Hell if I coulda stayed wanderin' around forever that would have been great! Well, I kinda do still, but I realized that I had been runnin' outta money. So I figured I needed to make some. That's when I realized that even though I was flat broke, I was still having a good time." he replied, picking up a nearby firestick and proding the fire, making the flames bigger. "And I knew that everyone wants to see more than just their hometown, so I started collecting things, from everywhere!" Aiden said excitedly, "Like I'm talking things most people never even seen or heard of! And then I'd just bring em' all back to towns and sell em. People loved it. They have no idea how foreign this world really is. Maybe one day, seeing the things you can find and discover will motivate other to get off their asses and do something with their lives."

"I know exactly what you mean Aiden, and I think that's really nice that you try and inspire others." Aeris said, "Kind of like what Cloud did for me."

"Huh?" Cloud whipped around to face her, "What did I do?" he asked, almost defensively.

Aeris just giggled at him, "Well...You're the reason I was able to leave Midgar in the first place right? I couldn't have left on my own, I wouldn't make it a day! Sure I've always wanted to leave, but I knew I couldn't do it alone. Eventually I forgot about it, but when you came and told me stories and stuff, the urges to leave came back again. Then you offered to take me with you."

"...Well, I suppose that makes sense, but I don't think you should put it all on me...I mean, you were the one who ultimately decided to go-"

"Will you two cut that out." Aiden chimed in, "Heh, it's obvious that you both played factors in it. So ya's each should be grateful for each other and that's that eh?"

They both nodded.

"Now," Aiden smiled, clasping his hands together, "have you two eaten supper yet?"

Aeris and Cloud looked at each other. Come to think of it, no. They hadn't gotten a chance to eat anything since the afternoon. And at the sudden mention of food, the pair began to realize just how hungry they really were.

"I'll take those rumbling stomachs as a "no"." Aiden answered for them, "Well, no worries! I caught four fish not a half an hour before you showed up. They're all ready for cookin'!"

"Oh, that's not really necessary." Cloud declined, "I mean, we have food. We wouldn't want to take whatever you caught yourself-" "Nonsense! Midgar's only a full days walk away, I'm restocking when I get there and I've got plenty of food in my backpack. I'd be glad to share."

Aeris smiled, "Well, if you insist."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they had all finished a surprisingly delicious supper and Cloud had managed to set up the tent in less than five. "What time is it?" he asked. 

Aiden looked down at his watch, "Oh, about 7:30."

Cloud nodded, "Ok, good then, we don't have to turn in for a while.

"You're never one to pass up sleep Cloud," Aeris teased as he sat down beside her and reached into his bag, "Why so anxious to stay up?"

"Well...I've been meaning to fix this," he said, pulling his hand out of the bag and revealing a small black cell phone.

"How long have you had that?" Aeris questioned. She had never seen it before.

"About a year I think. It broke when I fell through the church and I kept forgetting to fix it. I haven't really needed to use it while I was in Midgar."

"I see..." she leaned in to get a closer look at the thing, and getting a small whiff of Cloud's smell. Geez he always smelled nice. How did he do that?

"Yeah, well hopefully it's not too busted. This was damn expensive." he mumbled, fiddling the inside chips of the phone.

"Looks expensive." Aeris agreed. She had really never seen a sell phone "up close". It wasn't a big deal or anything, it's just that no one in the slums was fortunate enough to have one. The only time she'd ever seen one in use was when Reno was after her. One time while he had her on the run his phone had rang. Fearing it was his boss, he quit running and answered it. She wasn't too far away to know it wasn't who he thought it was. It turned out it was just some girl he had a one night stand with the night before. And Aeris couldn't have been happier that she called or else he would have most certainly caught her.

A small beeping noise diverted her from her thoughts and she looked down.

"Aha. It's working." Cloud stated simply, putting the back cover back on. "Atleast I hope it's working. Why don't you test it?" he offered, handing the phone to Aeris.

"Me?"

"Yeah, call your mom."

"Oh! Ok." she said delighted and took the small object out of his hands and dialed her number.

She sat patiently as the phone rang a few times, when finally, someone picked up.

"Hullo?" a high voice answered.

Aeris smiled, "Marlene?"

"Aeris?"

"Yes."

"Aeris? It's you! Where are you? Are you guys having fun?"

"Yes Marlene, we're having fun." Aeris laughed at the child's anxiousness, "And we're camping. We'll be in another town tomorrow."

"Awww I wanna go camping. I've never been camping before. Papa's never taken me - oh! He called today!"

"Ahh, what did I tell you? Told you he would call soon."

"Yeah. He wanted to know why Cloud didn't have his phone on. He said him and Tifa kept trying to call."

"It was broken." Aeris responded. She then pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at Cloud, "Barret and Tifa have been trying to reach you. You should call them later."

"Tomorrow."

Aeris went back to Marlene. "Marlene, do you think I can tlak to my Mom?"

"Yeah." she replied, "Auntie Elmyraaaaa!"

There was no answer for a few seconds before Aeris heard her mother pick up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hi Mom!"

"Aeris? What a surprise, I though you weren't making it to Kalm tonight."

"We didn't," she stated matter of factly, "We're in the woods. Cloud got his phone working."

"Oh that's good!" Elmyra exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I just called to tell you, so you can phone whenever and to say goodnight."

"Alright, thanks. And be careful!" she scolded.

"I will Mom. G'night."

"Alright, goodnight."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Aeris hung up the phone and handed it back to Cloud, when a yawn suddenly snuck up on her. She lifted her arms above her head and stratched.

"Tired?" Cloud asked

"..Mmm...yes actually. I might head to bed, just so I get enough sleep for tomorrow."

"Sure thing," he nodded, "I'll go make you a bed."

"You don't have to do that."

Cloud shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I'll make mine too."

"Well I'll come help you then." Aeris insisted, following him into the tent.

"Doesn't sound like too bad of an idea." Aiden murmered to himself and proceeded into his own tent.

* * *

"Do you need another pillow? You can have one of mine if you need it." Cloud offered as they unpacked their sleepingbags. 

"No thanks, I'm fine. Besides, I wouldn't want to deprive you of yours." Aeris replied, fanning out her blanket next to Cloud's on the ground.

"There we go!" she said, satisfied, "Now I have to change, get outta here will ya." she shoed him out of the tent.

When Cloud had returned to the campfire, he took a seat on the log opposite to Aiden, who had already returned from his own shelter and was now fiddling with the firestick.

"So how long have you been here?" Cloud asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh just today and yesterday. I'm leavin' tomorrow though."

"Ah, that's right, you said you were going to Midgar right?" Cloud continued, peeling off his armor and sheath.

"That's right!" Aiden said.

There was another short silence before Aiden spoke up again, "So...how long have you two been together?"

Cloud lowered his eyebrows, "Togeth...oh! We're umm actually not together...like that." he blushed.

Aiden smiled, "No? Fooled me. But you do like her though?"

Cloud scratched the back of his neck. He really didn't know the complete answer to the question, "I...uh...well, what would make you think that?"

The older man chuckled, "Well, I was going to go on about just how you acted together I guess...but seein' you studder and blush just kinda says it all. If ya know what I mean."

Cloud frowned. He never was good at this kind of thing. "I'm really not sure...not really a good answer, but that's all I've got."

"Heh, that's alright, I know what ya mean." Aiden set down the stick and stood up, dusting off his pants, "But for now, I think I'm gonna turn in. We'll eat breakfast before we both head out. Sound good?"

Cloud nodded, "Sure thing. See you tomorrow." And with that, Aiden headed into his tent, leaving Cloud alone at the fire.

* * *

Yay! I'm done a little sooner then last time. This one might be longer too. But anyway, R&R! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Uhnnn...these are annoying. I hope one day I don't forget one and get sued...oh well!

* * *

Cloud kicked off his boots before opening up the tent and stepping in, trying to be as quiet as possible. It didn't really work when he started to zip up the flap. It was rather loud when contrasted with the silence of the woods. He winced the whole time it was closing, as if doing that would make it any quieter. It didn't. 

When he was done with that, Cloud unzipped his vest and threw it in the corner. He was about to turn aroudn to crawl into his sleeping bag when he heard a noise.

"...Mmmm..."

_'Aww crap.'_

"Aeris? You awake." Cloud whispered in her direction.

He didn't hear anything at first, just shuffling, when finally, "...Yeah..." Aeris' groggy voice responded.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked, kneeling down on his blanket.

"No, I haven't been able to get to sleep yet."

"Oh, ok good. I mean! Not good, cause you can't sleep, I just didn't want to be the one to wake you and-" "Shut up Cloud." Aeris giggled lazily. "I know what you mean."

"Ok." Cloud pulled out his sleeping bag from under himself and crawled into it.

"What time is it anyway?" Aeris asked, turning on her side to face him.

"It's not too late, maybe eight-thirty, nine?"

"Oh..." she mused, with her eyes still closed, "Ok then...g'night then."

Cloud was in the middle of saying goodnight back when he felt her shift closer and huddle up to him.

He froze. This was...unexpected. What was she doing it for, not that he really minded. Accident maybe? Too dark to see where she was moving? Nah, it wasn't dark enough to noticed that she was flush against him with her arm half on him.

"Do you want me to move?" she asked when she felt him tense up.

Cloud opened and closed his mouth a few times before anwering, "N-no, I don't mind, I just didn't..."

"You're comfy." Aeris said simply, "And I didn't think you'd really care after last time...but I'll move if you're uncomfortable."

Why did he even have to do anything? He couldn't have just let it be. It's not like he wasn't comfortable. Now he had just made it akward. _'Well, might as well try to fix it.' _

"No, it's fine. You're comfy too." Cloud chuckled slightly, "I just won't be able to sleep like _this _all night..." he explained, sitting up.

"Here, turn around," Cloud instructed.

Aeris did as he asked, and turned onto her other side, feeling him stir behind her.

Cloud adjusted his pillow and unzipped the side of his sleeping bag that was nearest to Aeris, who's was also not zipped up.

"Come here." he said quietly, wrapping an arm around her small waist and pulling her against him.

Aeris turned her head to look upwards at him propped up on one elbow, "Comfy?" he asked. She nodded. "Good." he replied, with the tinest grin, "Now try and sleep."

"Ok. Goodnight Cloud."

"Goodnight." he responded, laying down and shutting his eyes. It wasn't long before they had both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Cloud awoke suddenly at the sound of a large rumble that shook the ground. Sitting up quickly he pulled his arm away from Aeris and looked around. 

It didn't take him long to realize that it was raining...not hard, but it was noticeable.

"...Cloud?"

Cloud turned to look at Aeris, who he figured he'd woken up, "Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"I'm not sure, but it's light out."

"Is it raining?" she asked, rubbing her tired eyes and turning to face him.

"Yeah. Great huh?" he smirked.

"Oh definately." she smiled back and laid back down.

For a moment Cloud just looked around. He wasn't ready to get up quite yet. Inhaling deeply, he took in the smell of the early morning, mixed with the fresh rain. It smelled good and allowed him to wake up a bit more. Allowing his eyes to wander down to where Aeris had went back to sleep, Cloud stared at her, watching her figure rise after each breath she took. _'I have to get up...I shouldn't be doing this...' _

He willed himself out of his sleeping bag and snatched his vest out of the corner of the tent. When Cloud stood up and exited into the campsite, he was greeted with a light drizzle of rain.

"Mornin'." Aiden said cheerfully, sitting on a log.

"Not a very nice one though." Cloud added, taking a seat next to him.

"That's for sure. It's a good thing there are so many trees enclosing the sky above us. I took a hike out into the fields earlier and man, is it ever bad out there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with all the forest and trees surrounding us, there's not much wind or rain that can get in here, but out there it's pouring so hard you can't see in front of you. And the wind just about swept me right off my own two feet!"

Cloud looked down and furrowed his brow with annoyance, "I guess we're not leaving today then..." he trailed off.

"Glad I'll have some more company then." Aiden smiled, "But for now, I think I'm gonna go catch some more fish for breakfast. I'll see you in a bit."

Cloud nodded as Aiden walked off and turned his attention to the fizzled out fire in front of him. It really wasn't giving him much warmth. He looked to the side and grabbed the fire stick Aiden had been fiddling with the previous night and flipped over one of the logs in the pit to reveal a little bit of coal that was keeping it going.

Still no good. Cloud shivered. There wasn't really anything to do out here was there? Especially with the rain. Sighing, he stood up and walked back over to the tent, kicking off his now muddy shoes before entering.

"...I'm not ready to get up yettttttt." Aeris whined as soon as she heard him come in.

"Don't worry, I'm here to join you." Cloud hopped back into his sleeping bag, "Aiden went to go get breakfast. And there's nothing to do out there, so I came back in."

Aeris shifted in her sleeping bag and turned around to face him, and smiled, "What time are we leaving at?"

"We're not." he stated.

"Huh? Why not."

"Aiden went out into the field this morning. He said the storm was really bad, lots of wind and too much rain. Said he couldn't see in front of him."

"Ohhh...too bad. I didn't think we'd hit a storm. It's probably the same one from a few days ago." she commented.

Cloud sat up and threw his vest back in the corner, _again._ He _really_ didn't like resting or sleeping with it.

"Really, that's weird...well either way, It's only one day."

"It'll probably be more than that." Aeris told him.

"What? Why?" he asked, confused.

"Well," she started, propping herself up on one elbow, "The weather by Midgar is really weird, I don't know why, but when it rains or snows, the storms usually go one way, and then circle around and come back. They do it a few times. It's totally bizarre. And they usually stay for a few days. Because when we get storms, we get them bad."

Cloud shrugged, "That is pretty weird...but what can we do about it right?"

"Right...Hey, weren't you supposed to call Tifa today?" Aeris reminded him.

"Oh yeah!" Cloud said, "I totally forgot about that..." he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone and dialed.

He listened for a few moments before hanging up. There was no dial tone, just a fuzzing sound.

"It's not even working, there's too much interference from the storm...guess I'll have to wait." he placed the phone back in his pocket and laid down, putting his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

Aeris, who was still up on her elbow, dropped back down to her side next to Cloud. She noticed his eyes were closed, so she took that opportunity to look him over...not that she hadn't before, but atleast this time he wasn't watching her...

His hair was still damp from the rain, and he was getting his pillow a little bit wet, but apparently it didn't stop him from sleeping. Aeris watched his chest move up and down as he took in slow breaths. It didn't take him long to fall asleep, so it seemed.

His blanket was only covering up to the hem of his pants, leaving the rest of him bare, _'I seriously think he does that just to bug me...'_ Aeris concluded. Either that, or he just didn't realize how pleasing he was to look at. Even without flexing, his whole torso was prefectly formed, not too much though. Most people who were high rank in Soldier were that way though. Zack was, although he was only seventeen when he and Aeris had been together, and he definately wasn't as toned as Cloud was.

Thinking about Soldier, Aeris remembered Cloud hadn't originally been from Midgar, so where was he from?

"Cloud...?" she asked softly, he couldn't really be asleep already could he?

"...Mmmm?" he responded lazily, keeping his eyes shut."

"Where are you from?"

He didn't answer right away, just kept his eyes shut. For a moment Aeris thought he had fallen back asleep.

"Cloud...-" "Nibelheim."

He opened his eyes slowly and turned on his side to face her, "I was born in Nibelheim...I grew up there until I joined Soldier.

"What's it like there?" Aeris asked with curiosity.

"It's a nice place...I didn't have such a good time there though."

Aeris, who was smiling before, suddenly felt her face drop, "Why not?"

"Well...I got picked on a lot when I was little...up until I left pretty much. Didn't really have any friends..."

"But...but what about Tifa?"

Cloud smiled a little bit, though Aeris could tell it wasn't a very happy one, "Tifa...didn't start talking to me until we were thirteen...until then she teased me just like the rest of the kids. And even after she started talking to me, she rarely did it when others were around. I don't even know why she bothered doing it in the first place if she was so ashamed to be talking to me, but who was I to complain, one friend was better then no friend right?"

"And...you still stay in touch with her?" Aeris asked. She didn't know how someone could be that cruel, act like a friend but really be ashamed of you. She suddenly felt a small tinge of anger well up within her somewhere.

"Yeah...she did apologize to me afterwards though...I guess she grew up. Either that...or she just realized that I wasn't a skinny, weak, pimply faced teenager anymore because ever since then she's done nothing but hit on me every now and then when she has the chance."

Aeris chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" Cloud questioned.

"I can't picture you looking like a toothpick and having acne is all."

He looked away form her and down to the side slightly, "Well...that's how it was..."

Aeris frowned, suddenly realizing that might not have been the best thingt to say.

"Well..." she started, getting Cloud's attention as he looked back to her, "if it helps, you're one of the best looking people I've ever seen."

Cloud didn't say anything, he just blushed and looked back away from her. Aeris smiled a bit, "Hey, would there be a chance that you want to go back there? I mean...I know it wasn't all that fun for you...but you said it was nice there and I'd like to see it. You could visit your parents?"

"...They're dead. They died when I was young."

Aeris sat wide mouthed for a few seconds, "Cloud...I..I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have brought up any of this I..."

"It's ok..." he said quietly, still not looking at her.

"No, it's not. It was none of my business, I should have never said anything."

"It's alright, Aeris." Cloud assured her, but it didn't take a genius to know that by the tone and sound of his voice that it wasn't "ok".

She hadn't meant to wake him up for this. Aeris pushed herself up on her pillow so her head was just above Cloud's and wrapped her arm lightly around his neck, pulling him closer, "I really am sorry..."

"I know..."he mumbled into her neck, returning the embrace with his own arm around her middle.

"I don't need to go there. I don't want to anymore." she told him, running her hand lightly along his neck and through his hair.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me, Cloud. If I hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

Cloud laughed against her, making her whole body vibrate as he did so, "And what's wrong with me being like this? I'm quite comfy, and...that feels really good..." he murmered, nuzzling closer.

"Well, atleast I was able to make you feel better again then, right?" Aeris poined out, continuing her minstrations on his neck, earning a few moans of content out of him.

"You falling asleep?" she asked.

"...Mmmm hmmm..."

She laughed lightly, closing her own eyes and relaxing on her pillow. Trailing her hand down along his jawline and back up to his ear, she found a small studded earing that she never knew was there and began to fiddle with it.

Aeris giggled when he titled his head to give her more access. She didn't know whether he was doing it on purpose or not though.

"You're like a puppy." she commented.

"...You would be too if you were in my position." Cloud said, shivering slightly when she moved away from whis earing and to the spot where his ear and jaw met.

"Well we'll just have to find out later won't we?"

"...Mmmm...whatever..but just, not now."

"Alright Cloud, just go back to sleep." Aeris ordered.

"Hmm...k."

* * *

It really didn't take long for Cloud to pass out again. Aeris, on the other hand, found it nearly impossible to fall asleep. It wasn't that she wasn't tired, or comfy - hell she was _very_ comfy. It was just that having Cloud so uncharacteristically close and pressed against her, sleeping, with his warm, steady breath upon her neck made it a little hard to concentrate on sleeping. 

So there she sat. Quiet and content for who knows how long. Listening to the faint pitter patter of rain on the tent roof. It was still fairly dark out though, the sun had yet to shine. But, that was expected because of the storm.

Aeris sighed deeply. She had blanked out for the passed fifteen minutes. She was actually starting to fall back asleep, but something had caught her attention; the unmistakable sound of footprints coming closer. It was no doubt Aiden, back from catching breakfast.

Just as Aeris had predicted, the lively man popped his head through the tent flap and announced, "Breakfast is caught! Oh!" he stopped and looked away, "Sorry, I uh didn't mean to..."

"It's fine, Aiden." Aeris pointed out, knowing fully what he was talking about before he even said it. "He's just sleeping. You didn't interupt anything."

"Whatever you say missy, I'll be out here cookin'. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to keep the fire going!" he said, giving a thumbs up and pulling his head out of the tent.

Aeris lifted her head up off of Cloud's and rubbed his back lightly, "Cloud...? Cloud, wake up."

"No..."

"But you have to."

"Why?" he whined.

"Because," she rolled her eyes, "our breakfast is almost ready."

"I don't care. I want to sleep."

"But aren't you hungry?" Aeris pressed on.

"Yes...but I'm comfy where I am." Cloud mumbled into her neck.

"Yeah, but there's no food in here." she pointed out.

"I guess you're right, only thing in here is you, and you probably don't taste that great." he said, giving her a small nip under her jaw.

Aeris sucked in a sharp breath and shuddered, a _good_ shudder, which she _knew_ he had noticed. As if she could help it. That, had felt _good_. She had to control her hands to stop them from pushing against Cloud's neck and back and melding into her even more than he already was.

Cloud smirked. Yeah...he had done it on purpose, and he much enjoyed the reaction he received. He know that. But why? He was only causing more confusion to himself, and judging from her actions, to Aeris too.

_'Alright,'_ he decided, _'that's enough...for now...'_ Pulling away from her, Cloud brought himself to rest on his knees beside Aeris. Her face was slightly flushed and she was taking deep breaths. The attempts at not looking obvious really weren't working.

"Well," he raised an eyebrow, "breakfast then?"

Aeris blinked, "I uh, what?"

"Breakfast." Cloud responded, grabbing his vest and slipping it over his shoulders.

"Umm...yeah. Right. Sorry." she apologised.

"Why would you need to say sorry?" he said zipping his vest.

She sat up and smoothed out her dress, "... I dunno, for just zoning out...maybe. Distracted I guess..." _'Wow, don't you sound smooth?'_ Aeris mentally kicked herself.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Distracted huh?" he trailed off and exited the tent.

Aeris stared at the tent entrance for a moment before shaking her head and trying to blink away her thoughts. As if that had just happened! Never in her life had she ever heard of "friends" displaying such affectionate actions.

She wasn't blind. Aeris knew there was something there, something begging to be taken further. And she did want it, to an extent. For the past month she had been trying to sort out all these feelings that had surfaced quite quickly. They weren't unfamiliar ones either. She had felt the same thing with Zack...only this time it escalated, Cloud was different.

Truthfully, Aeris wanted something to happen. At first she thought it was just a physical attraction, and the wanting wasn't all that strong or meaningful. But, it didn't take long for that to change. Eventually all those feelings had gotten stronger and she had a hard time keeping them at bay. She wasn't stupid either. She knew perfectly well that Cloud was sharing the same thing. How strong his feelings were, Aeris didn't know, but she knew there was something there. A guy like Cloud does not just open up to someone often. Not like he did with her. Just the way he was able to talk to her, and display his feelings in little bits at a time was a rare thing to see from him.

This reason was why Aeris had to be careful with him. She liked Cloud, she really did. But he wasn't the kind of guy you date for a bit, and then find yourself not attracted to anymore. If she was to make any sort of move on him, she had to make sure she wanted it, and so did he, otherwise Aeris knew he'd end up a total mess.

Cloud had already given her his trust. He had told her all about him, shown her that he had feelings and wasn't afraid to be open with her, which was something she learned didn't happen with him. It had made her feel special, to know she had the kind of power to allow him to be able to tell her anything. But if she ever broke that trust, or abused that power in any way, anything and everything they had now, would be ruined.

She could not hurt Cloud. She refused to.

_'And that's that.'_ she finalized. If she needed more time to think about this, she'd do it later.

Aeris threw off her blankets, stood up, and exited the tent.

* * *

When she reached the fire, her hair had already become damp due tot the light rain blanketing the forest. 

"Take a seat." Cloud said, motioning to the log next to him.

Aeris frowned, "But the log is wet."

"Everything is wet. You should probably get used to it. The only dry place will be our tent."

She sighed in defeat, "I guess you're right." she spoke, taking a seat right next to Cloud.

Aiden handed Aeris a plate of food, which she took without question.

"So," she said, mouth full of food, "what are we doing today then?"

Cloud shrugged, "I dunno. I'll probably just relax, maybe wash up in the river seeing as how my clothes are soaked anyways."

"I don't much like the rain." Aiden commented. "As much as I'd like to spend more time with the two of ya, I'll just be in my tent all day readin'."

"That's alright, you'll come out for supper won't you?" Aeris asked.

"Course I will! But for now, I'm gettin' just a little too drenched so I'll see yas later!" he said patting his wet hair and standing up to enter his tent.

"Well," Cloud stretched his arms over his head, "I think I'm gonna go wash up. Coming?"

Aeris nodded, "After I finish eating, go on ahead."

Cloud stood up and strode over too the tent and reached in to grab out one of his duffle bags. Pulling out some soap, he threw the bag back in and headed into the direction of the river.

* * *

It wasn't a very far walk, but by the time he had reached the river, Cloud was already soaked from head to toe. _'This is ridiculous, why bother even going in there if I'm already wet?'_ he argued with himself while pulling off his boots. 

After his socks and boots were tossed aside, Cloud chucked his vest over top of them, not caring anymore if it got even wetter. His pants came next, and were a little tricky to get off, seeing as how they were clinging to his legs. Surely they'd be fun to put back on as well. He was about to remove his boxers when he realized, '_Oh, right. Aeris should be along soon...I think I'll leave these_ on.'

Without hesitating, Cloud grabbed his soap and walked right into the river. And damn, it was pretty cold. He shuddered when he felt goosebumps arise all over his body. Best to get this over and done with fast then. Taking in a large breath, he sank down, dunking his head beneath the surface of the cold water and soaked his hair and face.

Without wasting any time, Cloud hastily rubbed the soap all in his hair and on his body, trying to get clean as fast as possible. When he was satisfied, he inhaled again and sank back into the river to rinse himself off. When he returned to the surface he heard someone yelling at him.

"Do you even have _any _of your clothes on?"

Cloud spun around and wiped his hair out of his eyes. Aeris stood on the edge of the river with her shoes off and she was currently taking out her hair.

"Yes. A little. I don't know why I didn't just keep them on though. They're drenched anyway." he answered, pointing to the pils of clothes near Aeris' feet.

She bent down to touch them, "You're right, they are. I should probably just leave mine on then..." she contemplated.

'_No you shouldn't.'_ was Cloud's first reaction. Although he had more sense than to just yell it out.

"Is the water cold?" Aeris dipped her toe into the river.

"...Only a little." Cloud lied, wading over to her.

"I don't know if I want to go in." she admitted almost fearfully.

"Sure you do." he said when he reached her.

And before Aeris knew what was happening, she felt her legs buckle from underneath her as Cloud lifted her up off the ground and over his shoulder.

"Ahh! No! Cloud!" she protested as he headed back into the middle of the lake.

"I don't want to it's cold!" she cried, latching her hands onto his back so she woulnd't fall in.

"It's not _that_ cold..."

"You're lying! Put me down."

Cloud smirked, "Ok."

Aeris was about to attempt to take back what she had said, but she already found herself plummeting into the water. With a startled scream, she fell in, the water engulfing her from head to toe.

"That was not funny!" she shouted after resurfacing. As soon as she felt the cold air hit her skin, she immediately wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm.

"...I thought it was kinda funny." Cloud admitted, thrusting the soap in her direction.

She gave him a small glare before reaching out her hand and accepting it.

"...Ok so it was a little funny." she said as she began washing her hair.

"Good. I didn't mean to get you mad"

"Don't worry, you didn't."

"Alright...listen, I'm all done in here so I'm going to head back to the tent. Both our clothes are soaking and the tent is the only dry place and we can't get it wet so..." Cloud trailed off. He didn't want to sound like a pervert for what he was suggesting.

Aeris blinked a few times before noticing what he had meant. While they were packing, the both of them realized that they wouldn't have enough room for clothes, only a few changes of small things, like socks and underwear. So they had both agreed to just wear what they had on, and whenever they stayed at an inn they were going to just let their clothes wash while they slept. But right now there was nowhere to dry them, only time could do that and they still had to get through the day.

"So you're saying we're spending the day without clothes on is that it?"

Cloud scratched the back of his head, "Uh...well unless you want to sleep in wet blankets tonight and soak the tent then...I guess so..."

She waved her hand at him lazily, "Eh, whatever. It's just one day." Truthfully, Aeris really didn't care that much. She was planning to stay snuggled up in her blankets all day anyways.

"Alright." Cloud sighed, "Well, I'm off then."

Aeris watched as he waded out of the water, picked up his clothes and headed back to camp. She followed soon after, not wanting to stay in the freezing lake while it rained on her any longer than she needed to.

Shuddering and chattering her teeth the whole way back to camp, Aeris quickly wiped off her feet as best as she could before diving into the tent.

"Whoa whoa! You're dripping all over my blankets there!" Cloud tugged his sleeping bag out from underneath her wet feet.

"Sorry." she apologised.

"Just put your wet clothes over there." he instructed, pointing to a makeshift hanger in the corner of the tent where all his belongings were draped over.

"Alright," Aeris said shuffling through her bag, "Turn around then."

Cloud did as he was told and gathered his blankets and turned in the opposite direction.

Aeris wasted no time in throwing off her dress and tossing it on the hanger next to Cloud's clothes. She then tossed her undergarments on there as well and replaced them with dry ones.

"Alright, you can turn around now." she said, pulling her own blankets over her and getting comfy.

Cloud complied by turning around and sitting opposite from her. He noticed she had kept her hair down. He liked it better that way.

"Well," she sighed, "What are we gonna do until supper?"

"Hmm..." Cloud thought..."I packed a deck of cards, you wanna play?"

Aeris raised an eyebrow at him, "Strip poker?" she joked.

He chuckled and reached for his duffle bag, "Wouldn't last to long would it?"

She giggled, "No I suppose not. Well, what do you want to play?"

Cloud leant back and rested himself on his elbows, "I guess we could just play regular poker if you wanted? Unless you don't want your ass handed to you again?"

"You'd better keep your mouth shut," she warned, or I'll rob you of that blanket of yours."

He just closed his eyes and shrugged, "Doesn't bother me. I don't have anything to hide. This blanket is only here for you, if anyone. Maybe I should take _your_ blanket."

Aeris just mimiced his movements, "I don't care if you have a blanket on or not, nor do I care if I have one on."

Cloud laughed, "You know it doesn't have the same effect when a girl threatens to remove her own clothes."

Aeris blushed and laughed, "You're totally right, it really doesn't."

"Either way I'm all for it."

"Yeah yeah, " Aeris glared playfully, "Let's just play cards. This time I won't lose."

* * *

Ok! That's all for this chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I got two reviews from one person telling me to hurry the hell up so I thought it best to get my ass into gear! R&R! 


	11. Chapter 11

As of I have no idea how long ago, my email has been deactivated :( . So to those of you who wanted this story sent to you, sorry but it's a no can do. On a fun note, you can always just do the ol' copy and paste routine :D. And for those nice reviwers out there who want some fluff, sorry but you'll have to wait just a bit longer. ...Just a bit

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

The sun was nearly set by the time Aeris and Cloud had finished a few heated rounds of poker. Aeris had actually gained enough skill to actually beat Cloud twice. 

"I think we're finished for now." Cloud suggested, "It's too dark to see anyway, and I don't want to waste the batteries in my flashlight just so we can play cards."

"I guess you're right." Aeris said, gathering up the cards and placing them back in the box. "I think it's about supper time anyway. How are our clothes?"

Cloud shrugged. He stood up and walked over to where their clothes were drying. "They're dry." he stated, picking up his pants and putting them on.

"Good, cause I'm _not_ bringing my blanket outside."

"Why don't we just eat in here?" Cloud offered, tossing Aeris her dress which she put on under the security of her sleeping bag.

"Actually yeah. That way we won't get rained on. I'll go tell Aiden."

He nodded in approval and finshed dressing while she poked her head out of the tent.

"Hey Aiden!" she called to him. He was already by the fire cooking up something.

"Hold yer horses! I'm almost done cookin'!" he said back, taking a test taste of some stew.

Aeris smiled at him, "You cooked for us _again_? We were just going to suggest that you come eat in here with us, seeing as how we just got our clothes dry."

Aiden grinned, "Well that sounds like a mighty fine idea to me. And don't worry, I like cooking! Here, catch!" he said, quickly tossing three wooden bowls in Aeris' direction which she almost fell out of the tent trying to reach.

Having just barely caught them, she brought herself back into the tent and cleared out a small space for Aiden to put the pot of stew.

"So...is it alright? Wait, is supper ready already?" Cloud asked, taking a seat and grabbing a bowl.

"Uh huh."

"That was fast."

* * *

It had been about ten o'clock when Aiden finally turned into his own tent. After supper they had all resorted back to playing cards. Cloud even wore out his flashlight. He didn't care though, he won every game. 

"I'm never playing cards with him again." Aiden had said right before giving up.

"It was nice of you to give him his money back." Aeris commented, getting comfortable in her bed.

"I wasn't thinking of keeping it. Even if it hadn't even been that much. Here's the money you lost too." Cloud said reaching into his pocket and pulling out his poker winnings.

"You sure?" Aeris questioned, "I mean, you did win it fairly."

He shook his head and put the money into her hand, "It's alright."

Aeris sat up, "No, Cloud I want you to have it. Just because you'll give it back, doesn't mean someone else would. I have to learn things like this. I have to get used to it."

Cloud hesitated, "Uh...well alright, but, I don't feel too right about it. Is there anything else I could give you back or something?"

Aeris put a finger to her lips and thought for a moment, "Well...I'm not really all that tired, and you did say I put you to sleep pretty fast this morning right? I think you owe me..."

"Ah...that I do." he agreed, hopping into his bed. "Little bit of a warning though, I don't know how good I am at this..."

"Doesn't matter." Aeris told him, scooting closer, huddling up to him.

"Whatever you say." Cloud shrugged and wrapped an arm around her. He pulled his covers up to his waist and then moved his hand back up and trailed his fingertips lightly along her neck and shoulders.

"...Mmm...you're right...that does feel good."

"Are you tired yet?"

"...Mmm hmm..."

Cloud laid his own head down on his pillow and let his eyelids relax, content on keeping his hand moving.

"If you're tired you don't hav to-"

"It's fine. I don't mind."

"Mmm k. Thanks."

"Not a problem," Cloud mumbled, "Goodnight."

"...Night."

* * *

The next morning, Cloud slowly opened his eyes...but shut them quickly when an intense light shone into them from outside the tent. 

He rolled onto his back and lifted his arm which was still wrapped around Aeris and brought it up to rest on his eyes. Apparently she has noticed the absence of his arm and she moved to wrap her own smaller arm around his bare stomach.

Cloud felt his body tense up at the sudden contact on his lower abdomen. He peered at her from underneath his arm. She was still asleep. Cloud closed his eyes back up and relaxed.

Aeris remained stationary against him until he heard her mumble something incoherent as she began to move around. He just ignored it...until he felt her hook one of her legs around his. Cloud moved his arm off his eyes and stared at her, confused.

"Aeris...you awake?" he asked quietly but received no answer. He continued to stare at her and within moments she mumbled something again.

Cloud chuckled softly. _'She must be dreaming.'_ he concluded watching her drop her arm across his chest. _'What about though...'_

He gasped suddenly and sat upright slightly when he felt Aeris begin to trail her hand down his stomach quite quickly. Cloud looked at her, shocked.

Still asleep.

_'Oh god..do I wake her up...!'? _

He sucked in a breath when she actually stopped just at the base of his pants.

He breathed out heavily with relief and stared at her hand. _' I can't sleep like this...' _Not when she was _that_ close.

Cloud grabbed her wrist lightly, preparing to move it away.. The sudden contact to her caused Aeris to wake and open her eyes.

_'Oh shit...'_ Cloud thought as he stared at her wide eyed.

If this didn't looked like some sort of forced attempt he didn't know what did.

She held an expression of equal shock and looked to where their hands met, "...Huh...?" Aeris mumbled confused and looked up to Cloud who opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Cloud...Why is my hand...?"

"...I...It wasn't..." he studdered. "You were sleeping and...moving around" he tried to speak.

Aeris released her hand from his grip as her face grew a deep shade of crimson, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." she trailed, observing the odd position they were in. How did they get that way anyway?

Cloud awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "Err...whatever, as long as you don't think it was me trying to...uhh...yeah...you know."

"Oh...no. It was..." Aeris turned even more red, "...my fault. I know you wuldn't do anything like that."

A few silent seconds passed. Although they seemed like eternity to the both of them. There hadn't been a more awkward moment between the two. Oddly enough, it was Cloud who tried to break the silence.

"On a bright note for both of us," he said, "It's sunny out. Which means the storm is passed." 

Aeris didn't answer him, she was too busy trying to make all of this non-embarassing for herself.

"Hey, Aeris? Did you hear me?" Cloud asked her, putting on his shirt and boots.

"Huh, oh...yeah. That's good." she said blankly.

He frowned at her and shuffled over the blankets and sat in front of her, "What's wrong?"

She turned her head away from him, a blush still evident on her face, "I'm just really embarassed..." Aeris admitted. "I hope I wasn't like that the night before...was I?"

Cloud placed his hands on her shoulders and got her to look at him, "Hey, don't worry about it. It doesn't matter. I_ really_ didn't mind, trust me. And no you weren't."

"Yeah but...you probably think-"

"Think that you were having _"special"_ dreams?" he laughed lightly, "I mean, you were pretty damn close to me."

Aeris gave him a small slap on the arm, "Shut up!"

"Well were you?" he teased.

She turned away from him, face burning, "...I don't remember..." she murmered.

Actually, that was a lie. She remembered, and she definately wasn't about to tell him that to the best of her memory, he had actually been the one in the dream.

Cloud sensed her discomfort and spoke, "Hey, don't even worry about it. It'll be ten times worse when I'm the one waking up from something like that."

Aeris giggled, "I guess that's true..."

"Happens to the best of us." Cloud assured her, standing up to exit the tent, "Besides, I knew you couldn't be_ all_ innocent." he smirked and left.

Moments later Cloud foudn himself outside sitting on one of the damp logs. It appeared that Aiden had packed up and left early, or so said the notebook that was waiting for him when he stepped outside.

Cloud scanned through the pages. They didn't really say anything that odd as to why he left, just that he wanted to get a good start on the day and make as much progress on foot as he possibly could. He picked up the pen that was hooked onto the page and scribbled a small note in responce to the one Aiden had left and closed it back up again. Cloud then stood up and walked over the end of the log and tossed the book inside of it where it was usually stored.

By the time he had finished this, Aeris had stepped out of their tent. She had gotten dressed, but hadn't bothered to put her hair up. Her steady pace slowed in confusion and she turned to look at him, "Where is Aiden?"

"He left early. Wanted to get to Midgar quickly."

Aeris frowned, "Oh, I wish I could have said goodbye."

Cloud nodded.

"You hungry at all?" he questioned.

"Actually, not really." she responded, "So if you wanna leave right away we can."

"Yeah, let's get to it."

* * *

They took about a half an hour to pack up their things and the tent, and another fifteen minutes to get back out onto the trail in the woods before the two were finally on the bike. 

Aeris gripped lazily onto Cloud and had spent the entire ride so far enjoying the scenery of the fields. It was hot out. Very hot. So she had packed her jacket in her bag earlier and the breeze from riding on the motorcycle was very welcoming.

They had been riding for close to an hour now and Aeris had noted that she hadn't seen a single flower field. She felt somewhat disappointed. That was, until she spotted something in the distance which was a lovely shade of pink. Sure enough, as they rode closer, she realized that there was a patch of flowers in a large field off on a sideroad close to where they were driving.

Aeris' fingers tapped on Cloud's stomach, where her hands were settled to get his attention. She felt his muscles tense up at the touch. He must have been out of it...or concentrating. He hadn't said a thing the whole ride.

Cloud turned around to see what she had wanted. Aeris pointed out to the field. He turned his head in the direction of her hand and looked back to her, giving a small nod before veering off onto the small sideroad.

Once they had stopped, Aeris hopped off the bike, "Thanks for stopping."

Cloud shook his head, "Wouldn't be too much fun if you didn't get to see what you wanted right?"

Aeris gave him a sweet smile before jogging off into the field. Cloud, however decided to remain where he was, so he leant up against his bike and just watched her.

He stared as she knelt down in the patch of flowers and picked a few of the seeds out from the middles of them and placed them in her pocket.

Cloud sighed. He was in over his head and he knew it. They had only been out of Midgar for two days and already he was having an insanely hard time trying not to think about her. Which of course, was what he was doing right now or else he would have heard what was creeping up behind him.

When Aeris had finished packing up enough seeds to send to her mother, she stood up straight and smoothed out her dress. She turned toward Cloud and smiled slightly at him. He looked relaxed up against his bike. Suddenly she felt her eyes widen and her mouth drop open as she looked past the motorcycle to see a creature approaching Cloud. It appeared to be a large cat-like monster. It was creeping low to the ground and looked about ready to jump, but Cloud was totally oblivious.

_'Oh no...'_

"Cloud!" Aeris shouted at him and pointed to the monster.

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned around to face a huge creature flying towards him in mid-air. There was no way he could get his sword in time.

Without thinking, Aeris felt her white magic flowing through her at an intense speed and encircle Cloud. She had no idea what it was, but the last thing she saw was the monster bounce away from Cloud, allowing him to draw his sword and finish it, just before she blacked out.

* * *

Searing pain shot through her temples as Aeris began to regain consciousness. She winced and opened her eyes slowly. It was dark, and she was laying on something soft. A bed? But weren't they in a field...? Wait...the monster! Was Cloud ok? 

Aeris sat up, frantic, which she quickly regretted as soon as her head began to pound louder then she could think.

"Lie back down."

She heard a familiar voice tell her, so she did.

"Cloud?" she choked out. She was still drained, apparently. "What happened...?"

"You passed out." he told her, kneeling down beside her bed and wringing out a damp cloth that was in a bowl of water on the bedside table.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

Cloud chuckled lightly. Always thinking of herself she was, even in the state she was in, "No, I'm fine, thanks to you." he assured her, wiping her brow with the cloth.

It felt relieving, it was then that Aeris noticed that she was quite warm. Wait? She lifted up the covers to find that the only thing she had on was a bra and underwear.

"You were drenched in sweat. I thought it was the heat, but it continued even after I brought you in here." Cloud explained "I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head, "Cloud...what happened?" she asked again.

"I'm not sure." he put the cloth back in the bowl, "I heard you yell at me. I turned around and there was a monster there. I didn't have time to reach for my sword. Just when it was about to take my head off, I felt something around me, and it bounced away form me, like their was a wall around me."

Aeris looked at him, confused, "I've never done anything like that before..."

"Which is why you blacked out. You used more magic then you could handle."

"...You said it bounced back and didn't even touch you?"

Cloud nodded, "That's right."

Aeris pulled her blankets up to her cheek and sat for a moment, thinking, "I think...that might have been a shell."

"Whatever it was," Cloud said lowly, "please don't do it again." The request sounded more like an order than anything.

Now she was confused, "But I helped you."

"You also scared the shit out of me." he commented darkly, standing up and sitting on the bed. Was he mad at her?

"Well atleast you're still alive to get scared."

"Do you know how long you've been asleep?" he asked.

"...No..."

"Two days. The colour started coming back to your face no more then an hour ago. For the first day all you did was sweat continuously and shake. Then you just stopped moving altogether."

Aeris didn't say anything.

"I'm not going to say I'm not thankful for you saving me. But, you also could have been too late...and not only would I have been gone, but you as well." he said looking at her. He did raise...kind of a good point...?

"Please, Aeris." he almost begged, scooting considerably closer to her, "Don't do it again...not until you know you can handle it."

She bit her lip and nodded, realizing how much he actually seemed to care.

"I didn't mean to sound mad at you...I'm sorry." he apologized quietly. Aeris shook her head, "It's alright." she said, wrapping the sheet loosely around her form as she made a move to stand up and fetch her clothes.

Cloud stood up when he realized her was sitting on her her sheets. She pulled the rest of them off her bed and began to walk past him when she felt him tug on her arm and pull her toward him quickly. Before she knew it, he had her pressed full against him in a tight embrace which she gladly returned by wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head on his chest.

Cloud gave her a small squeeze around her shoulders and rested his head atop hers.

They stood like that for a while, silently and comfortably before Cloud loosened his grip on her, letting his arms drop to her waist and pulled away just enough so he could see her face, "You should get dressed, and if you're feeling okay, I'll take you out and get you somthing to eat alright?"

Aeris smiled at him, "Okay." she responded and moved her arms up to encircle his neck and pull him into another quick hug, placing her head on his shoulder, "Thank you, Cloud." she said moving closer and pressing her lips against his cheek before leaving him completely to grab her clothes and head into the bathroom to change.

Cloud stood there, mouth open slightly, feeling a little cliche as he placed his fingers on his cheek.

_'This is going to be one long journey...' _

_

* * *

_Fin! I hope you guys like it...even though there was nothing terribly romantic in it...I was hoping to do that in a couple of chapters ahead so please keep reading and reviewing!

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Omg! Yay! Reviews! You guys are fun XD! But seriously, thanks so much. It means so much to me that you're all actually enjoying this story. This chapter will kinda just be to get the story moving...dodges shoes but don't worry, Chapter 15 will be a dandy one! (yes I'm aware that that's TWO whole chapters away but I've been updating pretty quickly I think so hopefully it won't be too long of wait.) And of course Chapter 14 will be good too! So keep reading!

* * *

They had been "out on the town" for well over half an hour and Cloud still couldn't believe how awestruck Aeris was. After all, it was only Kalm right? 

"Ooh Cloud! Can we stay here longer please?" she begged him. "It's so pretty here and everyone is so nice. No one has tried to rob me either!"

Cloud chuckled at that last part, although it was sad that she hadn't spent a day in her life walking around without trying to get mugged. He bit his lip in uncertainty, "I'm not sure Aeris...we have a long way to go and there's not much to do in Kalm...it's mostly a travellers stop."

She shrugged it off, "Ah, I guess you're right. Besides! This is only our first stop, I want to see everything!"

"Exactly." he agreed.

"Hey, we haven't stopped to eat yet, what about over there?" she pointed to a small restaurant not too far ahead of them, passed the bridge.

"Sure thing."

"Ever been there before?"

"Yes."

"Is it good?"

Cloud thought for a moment, "If memory serves me right, then yes."

"I wish I could visit so many places that I don't remember them all." Aeris commented, "Well, that's not what I mean, but there's only like, two restaurants in the slums and I've been to them both like a billion times and here you are barely remembering if you've been somehwere or not."

"Well that starts to happen when you've been all over. Too many places to remember. Sometimes I get messed up you know?"

"I'm going to remember all of the places I visit." she boasted.

"I don't doubt you on that one." Cloud said, grasping at the handle of the door to the restaurant.

After the two had found themselves seated and ordered, Cloud spoke up.

"I talked to Tifa on the phone while you we getting changed quickly. I called her the day we came to Kalm too, asked for a little advice on what happened..."

"And?" Aeris asked.

"She just told me to call her when you woke up so I did. She was relieved. She also found out from the description I gave her that it was actually a protect spell that you casted."

"Protect?" now she was getting very intrigued.

"Yeah, something like, any physical damage gets reduced greatly when it's cast, and if the damage was weak enough in the first place then usually the person who has it on them walks away unharmed."

Aeris went wide-eyed, "That sounds pretty extreme."

Cloud looked at her worriedly and nodded, "Apparently it is. Most of the trained Shinra Soldiers who practice white magic can't do it."

'Wow..."

"...Tell you what..." Cloud hesitated slightly, "I think...I think you've got a rare talent, and it would be a complete waste for you not to embrace it. But not in the way you did."

Aeris put her head down. She knew what she had done was quite irresponsible. But she couldn't help it.

"How about," he spoke more softly after seeing her reaction, "I help you with it then?"

She looked up at him, "You? But, you can't use white magic."

"True...but I'm pretty sure learning how to use it effectively might be close to learning how to do this," he said, placing his elbow on the table and lifting his hand up.

Aeris watched as small embers emerged from each of his fingertips and joined together to create a spiraling flame that danced in his hand.

Cloud then closed and opened his palm quickly, and in that instant the flame diappeared.

"How did you...?"

"That was just basic black magic skills that all Soldiers are required to learn...although when you get bored it kills time by learning how to manipulate it like that." Cloud explained.

"Teach me how to do that!" she requested excitedly.

He shook his head, "Maybe later...it would be too much to try and focus on learning that and white magic. It would do you well to start at what you already know. You'll be able to protect yourself."

"Yeah, but I won't be able to just defend myself forever." she pointed out.

"Chances are there should be no reason why we would encounter anything strong then that cat in the field. I'll teach you how to fight too. With just basic skills you'll know more than most people and you'll be strong enough to fend off the monsters that linger near main roads"

"Thank you, Cloud. But...I really can't help but feel like a burden." she admitted dully.

"That's not true. Everyone has to learn from someone else." he told her, "It would do both of us good if you know how to fend for youself, and protect even both of us at the same time."

"Ah, you're right." she admitted, "You're always right."

"Hmm...that's not true."

"Shut up, yes it is." she teasted.

Cloud leant back in his chair, "One day, Aeris you disagree with me on something and you'll be the one making the most sense."

"And then you'll be right about you not being right all the time, right?"

"_That_ is right. Oh...damn...which one of us is right then?"

Aeris covered her mouth to keep from laughing too loud, "I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure we both just completely contradicted ourselves."

"I think..._you're_ right."

* * *

After they had eaten, Cloud and Aeris returned to the Inn, and it was when they were in their room and ready for bed that Aeris noted that there was only one bed. Not that it was really an issue anymore, but where had Cloud been sleeping the past two days? 

"Where did you sleep last night and the night before?" she questioned him as she walked out of the bathroom, having just pulled on some pj pants and a spaghetti strap top.

"On the chair." Cloud pointed to a displeasing looking hardwood chair next to a desk in the corner of the room.

Aeris looked at him apologetically, "Did you even get any sleep?"

"Only a little." he confessed.

"You could have slept in the bed."

"Not while you didn't know about it...and you didn't have clothes on."

"Oh..." she replied. It was a very nice thing of him to do but she still felt bad for him, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Aeris nodded and moved to shut off the bathroom light before she hopped into bed, "Leave that on for a minute." Cloud told her. It was the only light on in the whole room and he was trying to sort a few things in his bag.

She left it on and jumped into the bed, pulling out the covers from underneath her and snuggling into them. She layed down and aimlessly watched Cloud rearrange his things...seeing as there was really nothing else to stare at.

When he was finished, he zipped up his bag and threw his shoulder guard and gloves on the desk, then slipped his vest off and dropped it on top of his bag.

Now she really had no reason to look at anything else. For the past few days Aeris just flat out gave up on trying not to look at him. Expecially now, when the single light of the bathroom constrasted every muscle on his body, making him look even more gorgeous than he already was. And maybe it kinda helped when he had the little habit of wearing his pants as low as they'd go without making him look ridiculous. Either way, he was fun to look at, probably fun to touch too...

Cloud stopped walking to the bathroom to shut off the light when he noticed Aeris following his every move, looking at him very dazily.

"What?" he asked obliviously.

She giggled and bit her bottom lip, "Nothin...just waiting for you to hurry up."

Cloud raised an eyebrow at her, "Uh...huh..." he mumbled, flicking off the light, leaving the room pitch black.

Aeris couldn't see anything, but she heard light footsteps and then felt the bed shift down when Cloud crawled onto it. She rolled on her side to get comfy and inhaled deeply, catching Cloud's scent. He always smelled good.

She then felt him lie down next to her on his stomach and get under the covers. He also caught her by surprise when he moved closer to her, letting his arm drape loosely around her middle. Aeris complied by scooting closer to him, allowing his arm to get all the way around her waist to pull her against him, almost possessively.

She really had nowhere else to put her own arm so she wrapped it over top of his bare back.

"Night." he said, tucking his other arm underneath his pillow.

"Night Cloud."

* * *

The next morning had come fast enough and despite having agreed with Cloud the previous day, Aeris still wasn't ready to leave. 

"How about, I let you go wander around and get the supplies while I stay here and pack everything up. Then you'll have a chance to explore some more?" Cloud offered, drying his damp hair with a towel.

"Ok!" she agreed delightedly.

"Here..." Cloud dropped his towel and walked over to the desk. He sat down in the chair and pulled out a piece of paper from one of the drawers and began to scribble something down. "There. This is a list of what we need. It shouldn't take you too long." he handed the paper to her.

"Alright," she reached out and took it from him, "Be back soon." she turned her back to him and headed for the door.

"Aeris." she stopped and turned.

"Hmm?"

"We'll stay in Costa de Sol for a week alright? You really like it there okay?"

"Really!"

"Yeah. We'll go there next."

"And you won't mind?"

Cloud shook his head, there was definately nothing to mind about Costa de Sol, "Absolutely not."

Aeris flashed him a smile, "Thanks Cloud." she said and opened the door to leave, and then shutting it behind her as she left.

After she had left, Cloud ran a hand through his wet hair, attempting to get it out of his eyes. It usually just fell back into his vision again. Parts of his hair very pretty long and when they were wet, they never stood up like they normally did. They just blocked his eyesight.

He stood up and walked over to their bags in the corner. Grabbing his vest, he threw it over his shoulders and zipped it up, then proceeded to put on his shoulder guard and gloves. Looking around the room for all their stuff, Cloud dimly noticed that most of it was his. He went around picking up small random things that he had taken out over the past three days for one thing or another and tossed them haphazardly into his bag.

Nothing in the main bedroom seemed to belong to Aeris, so he went into the bathroom. He smirked slightly. All his stuff was strewn about, while hers was placed neatly in a small pile. He grabbed everythign and put them into their respective duffle bags. When that was done, Cloud headed into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

He thought it would be a better idea to call Elmyra later when Aeris was actually with him, so he decided on phoning Tifa. He dialed her number and held the phone to his ear patiently. It rang three times before she picked up.

"Hello?" an annoyed voice answered.

"Hey Tifa."

"Oh! Hey Cloud." her voice picked up slighty.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Ugh," she sighed, "We left Midgar yesterday for a bit, we were only suppoed to be gone for that one day, but yesterday while Barret and I were walking through the woods some...some kid!"

"I swear to god when I find her!" Cloud heard Barret interupt. Even when he wasn't even the one on the phone, he was heard.

"Tifa what happened?" he asked, concerned now.

"Some kid, I swear, she couldn't be older than 16 maybe 17, up and robbed us! Everything!"

Cloud almost laughed, "W-what!"

"Yeah!"

"You...and Barret, managed to get robbed by a teenager? How the hell did you pull that off?"

"I have no idea!" she yelled, "We've been following her all day, barely anyone has seen her, she's sneaky!"

"I bet Marlene wasn't too happy with you guys leaving again."

"No she wasn't but once we find her, which shouldn't be too long, we're heading back. We think she's from Wutai. And that's where she's been leading us."

"You're going all the way to Wutai!" Cloud said in disbelief. "That'll take over two weeks."

"Yeah I know," Tifa scoffed, "but Barret isn't letting this go."

"Damn right I'm not!"

"Maybe we'll meet you there." Cloud said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll call you in about a week, see where you are and where we are."

"That would be great!"

"Yeah, but I gotta go. We're leaving soon."

"Alright, see you later Cloud." Tifa said and then the line went dead.

Cloud tucked the phone back into his pocket and waited for Aeris to return.

Fortunately for him, he didn't have to wait long. The door opened quietly and Aeris stepped into the room with a few small bags in her possession.

"I'm back." she said cheerfully.

"Did you find everything?" Cloud asked, standing up and making his way over to their bags.

"Yep. So, are we leaving?"

"Yeah, we're ready to go. Oh, and I called Tifa. We're gonna meet them in Wutai in a few weeks." he informed.

"Wutai? Why are they there?"

"They got robbed," Cloud stated with a slight bit of humor in his voice.

"What!"

This time he full out laughed, "Yeah, by a kid! Barret refuses to let it go so they've been following her."

Aeris placed a hand to her forehead and shook her head, "Ah geez...how did they pull that off?"

"Hmph, no idea. Either way, we should get to going." Cloud picked up both of their bags and headed over to the door. Aeris walked out first and he followed, shutting the door behind him.

"Are there any towns we're stopping at before Costa de Sol?" she questioned as they headed down the stairs.

"Junon. But we don't wanna stay there too long. It's not that great there. But we will have to take a boat from there straight to Costa de Sol." he told her, placing the key on the front desk and reaching into his pocket to pull out some money.

"Alright then."

"Why?"

"Just curious."

* * *

"Why are we stopping so early?" Aeris asked after Cloud had parked the bike off the main road behind a huge hill. It wasn't even near dark yet. 

"Because," he said shuffling around in a nearby bush, "I want to teach you." he broke off two thick sticks and tossed one to her.

"Teach me?"

"That's right." he replied forming himself into a fighting stance.

"W-we're fighting?" she studdered, grasping the stick closer to her.

"Yes."

"But I don't know how to!" Aeris argued.

"I know, which is why we need to do this."

"Mmmm...ok but..."

"You know you can always heal yourself if you feel you can't fight back." Cloud pointed out.

She seemed to relax slightly having heard that, "I guess so."

"Alright then, let's go."

Aeris didn't move though, she didn't want to make any first strike. She kept her eyes focused on Cloud's but he caught her attention when the corner of his mouth tugged upward in a small grin, "Fine, have it your way."

He slowly walked sideways drawing nearer with each step. The way he was coming closer forced her to move to the side as well. Aeris glanced at his feet and began to mimic his steps, when suddenly he took a lazy swing at her. Which, she found herself just barely able to dodge. Out of reflex, she went to swing back, but Cloud blocked it with ease. He swung again slowly, on purpose. Aeris did the same and tried to hit him.

"You know, " he started, still moving, "just because I swing, doesn't mean you have to."

Aeris nodded in responce before Cloud took a quick step toward her and slashed again, this time he didn't miss.

"Ouch!" she yelped, her once concentrated stance disappearing, "You hit me!"

"Anyone else would. I didn't even hit you hard."

"Well it really hurt." she complained.

"I can hit a lot harder than that if you-" he was cut off when he blocked her stick again.

"Now now, just because you're mad at me, there's no reason to attack me without thinking."

Aeris gritted her teeth. There was no way she was gonna get how to do this. There were too many rules!

She grumbled and healed her arm.

The two went on slowly, for another 15 minutes. Cloud had hit her three more times, making sure not to be too rough. Each injury she had healed directly after she had been struck.

"Well?"

"I'm tired..." she panted.

Cloud stood up straight and tossed his stick back in the bushes. "You shouldn't be."

"I know..."

"It's because you used what magic you have all at once. You can't heal every small wound. You're gonna have to tough it out and use it only when you need it. But don't worry," he assured, "after you use it enough, you'll gradually be able to do it more and more without getting tired."

Aeris nodded and reached out to set up her sleeping bag. They had decided not to use the tent tonight, seeing as how the field was virtually deserted and it was a nice night out. She collapsed onto it and cuddled up to her pillow.

"That tired huh?" Cloud said, sitting down beside her and began to make a fire.

"Mmm hmm."

"You hungry?" he turned and asked.

"Yeah."

"Ok, I'll make us some food then."

"Thanks."

After he had got the fire going and cooked supper, Aeris had passed out almost instantly. Cloud however, remained awake for another two hours just sitting by the fire. It was weird not having anyone to talk to. Usually he was used to it, but now he just found himself bored.

Peering over in Aeris direction, Cloud looked at her sleeping figure. He moved his hand over and brushed all the hair out of her eyes.

He sighed and stood up. Now that he wasn't sitting, Cloud realized he was pretty tired himself so he grabbed his own sleeping bag and laid it out beside Aeris.

He kicked off his boots and pulled off his armor and vest and called it a night.

* * *

He was first to wake the next morning. He found himself sprawled on his stomach with his limbs strewn about. Cloud turned his head to look at Aeris who was no better than he was. She was half out of her sleeping bag and her leg was tossed over his. 

Not too long after, she began to lazily open her eyes to gaze into his.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"I did." she yawned and sat up.

"Good. Im glad you're up early. We should reach Junon within three days. Until then, we have nothing but fields and woods to get familiar with."

Aeris frowned, "Aww..."

"Hey it's not that bad."

"Yeah easy for you to say, you get to drive." she said, smacking him with her pillow.

"I'll let you drive sometime."

"Really?"

"Yeah sure, as long as you don't kill us."

"Can I drive today?"

"Mmmm...not today, since we're meeting up with Barret and Tifa, we have a schedule to keep. You can after Wutai though."

"Alright, fair enough." she said, pulling herself up out of her bed and rolling up the sleeping bag.

"Up." she ordered, pushing Cloud so he rolled over onto his back and off his sleeping bag so she could put away his as well.

"Want breakfast?" he mumbled, still on the ground.

"Actually, I'm fine. We can leave if you want."

"Let's go then."

With that said, the two packed up their things and hopped back onto the bike.

Two hours into their ride, Aeris noticed that the scenery had began to change. Instead of the huge fields, there were now small fenced once and a lot more trees near the roads.

"Where are we?"

"Farmland."

"It's really pretty out here." she commented.

"Yeah it is." Cloud agreed, "I really like it out here."

"Me too." Aeris sighed and rested her head up against his back, continuing to watch the scenery.

They drove for another half an hour and even passed a few farm houses before they began to slow down. Aeris lifted her head up, "Why are we slowing down."

"...Shit..."

"What? What's wrong?"

"I'm so stupid."

"Cloud, what is it." they had come to almost a complete stop now.

"We're out of gas. I forgot to get more in Kalm."

Aeris groaned and let her forehead drop back onto his back.

"Guess we're walking for now...but wait...how many houses have we passed?" Cloud asked, climbing off the bike.

"Five."

"Thank god."

"Why?" Aeris asked, following him off the bike as he gripped the handles and walked is beside him.

"Cause there's one more house on this stretch not far from here. It's a chocobo farm."

"I've never seen a chocobo before." she exclaimed.

"Yeah, and I'm sure they'll let me buy some gas from them."

Aeris looked at him, "I hope so...what will we do if they don't?"

"Not too sure."

* * *

Just as Cloud had said, a good thirty minute walk later they encountered a small farm. 

"Chocobos!" Aeris pointed excitedly to a few of the birds that were walking around in the frontyard pen.

"Come on," Cloud said, gripping her hand and leading her to the gate, "They probably won't mind if you pet them."

"Ooh really?"

"Yeah, I think so." he said as they walked the long dirt stretch that led to the house. They didn't make it halfway up the road when they saw someone emerging from the small house.

"Can I help you!" the figure yelled to them, walking down the front steps and out onto the road.

"Sorry for just coming onto your property like this," Cloud apologized when they had met with the older looking man from the house, "but my bike ran out of gas and I was wondering if I could buy some from you?"

The man looked up in thought and fiddled with his grey beard, "Hmmm, well sorry to say but I don't need any money...and gas only comes once a week..."

"Please, we really need some. If there's anything you need..."

"Well...it doesn't hurt to have a helping hand with chores. How bout' I give ya's all some gas, and in return, you do some work for me in the stables and in the fields?"

"For how long?" Cloud inquired.

"Mmm let's see...three days sound okay to you? Including today, and you can leave in the middle of the third day?"

"Will you give us enough to get to Junon?"

"Sure thing!"

Cloud nodded, "Alright you've got a deal."

"Well put er' there then! Name's Marv," the man said, sticking out his hand.

"Cloud." he responded, gripping his hand in a quick shake. "And that's Aeris."

"Good to meet ya's both...now! Let's get you two to work!"

"Not her." Cloud said.

Aeris looked at him, "What? Cloud why not, I'll help."

"It's not you're fault we're here, it's mine. I won't have you waking up at four in the morning and working yourself till you faint on my account."

"But..."

"No. I'll do it."

"Fine."

"Well, suit yourself young man! Let's get you to the barn then. You come too little lady, I'll introduce ya both to my daughters."

Cloud and Aeris followed Marv passed the house and into a large barn. When they entered it they were greeted with two rows of stables each holding a chocobo.

"Can I pet one of them?" Aeris asked timidly.

"Well ya could," Marv said, adjusting his hat, "or since my daughters aren't in here you could go out back and ride one with them?"

Aeris eyes went wide with excitement. "Really?"

"Sure! Come on out this way."

Marv led them to the middle of the barn and opened two large doors that led out back to another fenced in field. They stopped at a small white fence. Not too far away from them, there were two girls riding chocobos.

"Hey!" Marv called, "C'mon over here you two!"

Without an answer back, the chocobos began to head their way. Aeris watched them intently, she had never even been near one before, let alone riden one.

"Girls," Marv started as the two chocobos reached the fance, "this here is Aeris, and that's Cloud. They're gonna be stayin' with us fer a few days."

Cloud raised an eyebrow at the two suspiciously when they started to whisper.

"I'm Jessica, and this here is Beverly." Jessica introduced. The two looked like the ultimate cliche farm girls that hadn't actually done a days work of actual farming in their lives, Cloud thought. But then again, who was he to judge.

Both of them were wearing cut off jean shorts that definately could have been longer and plaid sleeveless shirts tied up and the front. They looked about 19, maybe 20 complete with cowboy hats covering their sun-kissed hair.

"If you two wouldn't mind, you wanna take Aeris out with you? She ain't never been on a chocobo before."

Jessica gasped, "Never been!" she hopped off her chocobo and ran to untie the one that was attached to the fence. "Well let's get you saddled up then! We'll ride as long as you want."

"Really? Thanks so much!" Aeris said delighted as she walked over to the chocobo.

"You can pet him if you want, he likes it." Jessica told her and she set up a small saddle.

Aeris complied and stuck out her hand to pet the bird's head, he made a small delighted sound and pressed his head into her hand.

She stopped and turned when Cloud tapped her on the shoulder, "I'll see you later." he said. She nodded and he left and followed Marv back into the barn.

When the two had disappeared, Beverly spoke up, "He is something gorgeous."

"Ooh I know!" Jessica added, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Aeris blushed slighty and shook her head, "Uhh...no he's not..."

"Hmm, you related?"

"Oh! No, not at all!" she said surprised.

Jessica shrugged, "Just friends then?"

Aeris fiddled with her fingers and looked down, "Umm...well I guess yeah."

"Ahh, I see." Jessica stated, "you like him though."

Aeris leant up against on of the fence posts, "...That obvious?"

"Only from that last answer." Beverly laughed, "Now get yourself up on that chocobo and let's go for a ride. Then after, we can go take a swim in the pool."

Aeris placed her foot in the hold and lifted herself up on to the chocobo who flapped his wings, "Ahhh..."

"Don't worry, he won't do anything crazy, he's just happy. He's been sittin' out here all day, I'm sure he can't wait to get moving." Jessica explained.

"O-ok...now, how do I do this?" Aeris asked, completely unsure of what to do.

"It's easy," Beverly said, moving her chocobo beside hers, "You just pull the reigns in the direction you want him to move and he'll do it. And if you wanna go faster, which you won't wanna now, you just give him a little tap on the side with your heel. You don't need to do it hard neither cause they're very sensitive."

"Tap both your heels on his sides to go, and pull the riegns toward you to stop." Jessica added on.

"Alright," Aeris sighed, "seems easy enough." she kicked her heels lightly, and sure enough, the chocobo trotted off. She was a bit startled at first but after Jessica and Beverly had caught up with her, Aeris felt a little more comfortable and confident.

Cloud on the other hand, wasn't having as much fun. Marv had led him out to the back of the barn where the fence was broken. He had to fix it. He was provided with wood, but each time he ran out he had to get more. After he was finished actually building it, Marv had told him to paint it. Cloud sighed as he held up a long piece of wood up to the fence and picked up the hammer, _'Well, I did agree to this, so there's no point complaining now.'_

* * *

The girls had riden for just over an hour and a half when the sun was getting pretty high in the sky. 

"Whew it's hot out!" Beverly commented.

"Yeah Bev, it sure is, what do you guys say we go for a swim?" Jessica suggested, flinging her blonde hair behind her shoulders.

The three of them headed back to the barn and put the chocobos back into the stables.

"Oh, I have to go get my stuff from out front." Aeris said.

"Not to worry," Marv spoke up from inside one of the stables, "I brought your bags into the house."

"Thank you very much." she said and followed Jessica and Beverly into the house.

"Pa probably brought you stuff to the attic room." Beverly informed when they had reached the house.

As they stepped inside there were greeted with the smell of food.

"Mmm who was cooking?"

"Oh, that was me," Jess smiled, "I baked some cookies earlier."

"Smells good."

"Why thanks, here, I'll show you to your room."

Aeris followed the girls passed the kitchen and the living room, both of which were made entirely of wood. They weren't very big either, but that made them look all the more cozy. Jessica led them up two flights of stairs where all the bedrooms were. They passed three of them in a long hallway until they reached a door at the end.

"Attic's up here. Don't worry though, it ain't grimey or nothin'." she said opening the door to reveal another narrow staircase.

When they arrived at the top, Aeris was surprised to see a huge open room. The roof was slanted on either sides and there was a large window on the opposite wall. It was complete with two beds, and a few carpets. There was even a small area with a couch, table, and small television.

She looked over to the beds to see her and Cloud's bags at the foot of them.

"There ya go, enjoy. We'll meet you out back." Beverly said.

"Alright, I'll see you guys outside." Aeris waved as they headed back downstairs.

She made her way over to her bed and pulled her duffle bag up with her. _'Glad I brought my bathing suit.'_ she thought, pulling out her bikini and wrap around skirt as pulled the ribbon out of her hair.

After she had gotten changed, she headed back downstairs and walked out behind the house. Aeris hadn't really been too sure on the location of the pool, but it didn't take her long to find as she just followed the sound of the two girls laughing.

Sure enough, near one end of the house, Aeris found Jessica and Beverly having a splash war in a small inground pool.

"Hey there!" Jessica called to her, "C'mon in!"

She didnt have to tell her twice, it was hot out. Aeris tossed her skirt on a nearby lawn chair and dove into the pool.

The next three hours went by quickly enough. The three of them had spent the whole time swimming and mostly talking and gossiping. Just getting to know each other basically.

"Hey we should get out soon. We gotta start making supper." Beverly pointed out.

Aeris looked up at the sky toward the sun that was getting low. Was it really suppertime already! She hadn't seen Cloud since he had left her at the fence.

"Yeah we should be gettin' out." Jessica hopped out of the pool and grabbed a towel.

"We're gonna get started on supper. You go find that cute little boyfriend of yours and tell him to come in for a shower."

Aeris laughed, "Alright I will."

They parted ways and Aeris headed over toward the barn. She really had no idea where Cloud even was. She entered the barn and looked around. He wasn't in there, but Marv was.

"Do you know where Cloud is? It's almost time for supper."

"Just head out that door over there," he instructed, "he should be out there."

"Thanks." Aeris said as she walked by and opened the small wooden door at the end of the barn. It led her to the beginnings of a large wheat field.

She scanned the area and laid her eyes on a large tractor.

Cloud swore to himself when he caught his finger in something underneath the tractor. He was currently laying on his back in the middle of the field underneath the machine trying to fix something. When Marv asked him to do it, he didn't really think anything of it. If he could fix his bike, surely he could fix a tractor right?

It appeared to be more of a pain than he had thought. This thing was old and junky and Cloud was having a hard time telling one part from the other. He was however, snapped out of his thoughts when someone began talking to him.

"Hey there." a cheery. familiar voice said.

Cloud wiggled out form underneath the tractor to say hi, but almost bashed his head trying to sit up to fast when he found himself staring at what looked to be a half naked Aeris standing in front of him.

It took him a moment of completely obvious oogling to realize she had gone swimming and just never changed out of her bathing suit.

"It's time for supper and you need to get showered." she told him offering her hand to help him up.

He grabbed it and pulled himself upward, "What time is it?"

"I'm really not sure but I think it might be near five."

While the two were walking back to the house, Cloud told her what he had beeen doing all day when she asked. Aeris of course, felt bad, having done nothing but have fun all day.

They reached the house and said hello to everyone before Cloud jogged up the stairs to have a shower. He could have stayed in there forever, but that would be impolite, so he willed himself to get out and dressed. After they had all finished supper, Cloud had dismissed himself and gone straight to bed. He was exhausted.

"Poor guy," Jessica had said right after he left, "he was workin' all day."

"Yeah I feel really bad, he wouldn't let me help." Aeris frowned.

"Well atleast he's a gentleman." Beverly pointed out.

"Sometimes I wish he wouldn't be."

* * *

At 10:30, Aeris made her way upstairs as quietly as she possibly could. Her face sunk when she saw Cloud sprawled across one of the beds. He hadn't even botherd to get under his covers. No doubt he fell asleep as soon as he hit the mattress. 

She was going to help him tomorrow. No questions. She decided, climbing into her bed and drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Aeris cursed when she awoke. Yes, she was going to help Cloud but it really didn't help when he was already up and gone. She hopped out of bed and down the stairs. In the living room Jessica and Beverly were watching TV.

"What time is it?" she asked them.

"Bout' noon."

"Damnit."

"Aww, what's wrong?" Jessica asked, shifting over on the couch and patting the seat next to her.

Aeris sat down and relaxed on the couch, "I was going to help Cloud today, but now he's already gone. Do you guys no where he went?"

"Hmmm, well earlier today we watched him herd the chocobos into the barn without his shirt on, so that was pretty fun...then Pa called him off to go help him out with some things in the fields. They could be anywhere out there. Them things are more than just a few acres big."

Aeris slouched in her seat with defeat.

"Hey come on now, cheer up, I'm sure he's doin' fine. He wouldn't want you to tire yourself out anyways. Now let's go on and take them chocobos for a ride in the back woods."

Aeris couldn't say no to that. The girls packed themselves a lunch and set off into the woods for the day.

When they got back, they made supper and waited for Marv and Cloud to return.

"There they are." Jessica said, looking out the kitchen window, "Bout time you got back Pa, dinner's almost ready and you two need to get yourselves cleaned up."

"I know I know, sorry bout that." Marv apologized.

Just like the night before, Cloud had ate, thanked them for his meal and said goodnight. This time Aeris had followed him upstairs just after he had left.

"I wish you had've let me helped you." she said when she reached their room.

Cloud looked at her and tossed off his vest.

"It's fine." he said, stretching his arms, his face distored with pain.

"What's wrong?" she asked, walking over to him.

"Nothing, my back and arms just hurt." he shrugged it off.

"Here, lie down." she instructed, taking his hand and leading him to his bed.

"Ok..."

"No, on your stomach."

Cloud did as he was told and rested himself on his stomach and placed his arms underneath his pillow.

Aeris then hopped on the bed beside him and lifted her leg over his hips on one side of him and rested on her knees. Placing her hands on his back she let a cure spell flow through them and onto his back. Cloud let out a low sigh of relief.

She giggled at him, "You could have just asked me to do that yesterday."

"I could have...but then I wouldn't be getting special treatment right now would I?" he commented and she started to massage his shoulders.

"No, probably not. Now where does it still hurt?"

"All over."

"Just what exatly have you been doing anyway?" she interrogated while moving her hands down to his shoulderblades.

"Lifting hay. It's heavier than you would think when their in huge bunches. And splitting wood on the outside edge of the forest. I lost count of how many pieces."

"Aww...I'm sorry Cloud, I don't know why you didn't want me helping you..." she said softly trailing her finger nails lightly down his back, making him shudder. Aeris smirked. Atleast she had the same effect over him as he did her.

"I told you already."

She cast another cure spell on him. "Feel better?"

"Almost."

"Almost? I cast it on you twice. You should be fine, faker."

"Yeah...but you're good at this."

Aeris shrugged, "I did it to Zack all the time, so I have practice."

At the mention of another guy's name, Cloud felt an unnecessary hint of jealousy stir within him.

"He also liked it..." Aeris said, moving her hands down to his lower back, "when I did this." she finished, working his back with her palms and thumb while wrapping her fingers around his waist and massaging the front of his hips.

Cloud let out a low moan, that felt _way_ too good. And not in a realxing sort of way...

"You know," he started quietly, "I'm sure he didn't like it because it was relaxing."

Aeris bent forward so her face was close to the back of his neck, "I'm not _that_ naive, Cloud." she spoke into his ear, giving his hips a small squeeze before she pulled herself up off him and hopped into her own bed.

"You're a tease is what you are..." he mumbled.

Aeris pretended to ignore is and shut off the bedside lamp. "I'm helping you tomorrow Cloud." she said seriously.

"Fine, have it your way."

"We'll be able to leave quicker anyway." she pointed out.

"Yeah I know. Thanks though..."

"You're welcome...goodnight Cloud."

"Night."

* * *

"See, I told ya you'd be tired." he boasted the next day.

After Marv had woke them up and had breakfast, he drove Aeris and Cloud out into the forest where Cloud had chopped all the wood. Now Aeris knew he hadn't been exagerating when he said he had lost count. There was a _lot_ of pieces there, and they had to load each and every one onto the truck.

Currently they were now re-stacking them outside the barn. Yes, after they had loaded them onto the truck, they were now taking them right back off, only this time, they had to do it neatly.

"Yes. I am tired." she admitted "But this just means I know what you've gone through the past two days alone. And I would rather be helping you than sitting on my ass."

Cloud stopped and looked at her. "...Thanks, Aeris."

"Hey hey! Don't stop moving! We had a momentum going on there!" she ordered, tossing a piece of wood off the truck to him.

"Oh! Right! Sorry." he said and quickly caught the piece she threw at him.

"And don't worry about it Cloud, cause you'd do it for me."

"You guys need some help?" they were interupted by Jessica and Beverly.

"You two...wanna help?" Cloud looked at them questioningly.

"Well sure, I mean, we're bored in the house anyways. And besides, this is our farm, we should atleast be helpin' with the chores!"

"Thanks guys." Aeris said tossing them some gloves.

Only an hour later, they had finished unloading the truck and placing the wood neatly up against the barn.

"Well that went by a lot faster." Aeris stated.

"Yeah it did. You know Cloud," Jessica looked at him, "Thanks for helpin' out and all. Bev and I do all the regular chores, like clean the house, care for the chocobos and stuff. And Pa does the rest. It would've taken him two weeks to done what you did in two and a half days what with his old age and whatnot. You really did us a favor."

Cloud felt his face go slightly red, "...Don't worry about it...after all, you guys helped us."

"That's right." Beverly grinned, "Now let's go get your bike filled up and your stuff ready!"

* * *

After they had packed up their things and said their goodbyes, Cloud and Aeris had up and left the farm before dinner time. 

"I thought you said that it was hard to come across nice people Cloud?" she had told him not long after they had started riding.

"I think you're just lucky. Don't worry, you'll meet your share of assholes at some point."

"Cloud I've known nothing but those kinds of people my whole life, I think I'm due to make some friends."

_'She does have a point,'_ Cloud thought. If anyone deserved to have friends, it was her. "I think you're right Aeris."

"So we're off to Junon then?"

"Yeah, to Junon."

* * *

Hey, remember the time I updated a week after my last chapter...cause I do! XD And this one was a big one. But don't worry, I'll try to have to next one up pretty soon, but I can't promise anything seeing as how school is starting up again. The reason this one came up so fast was because as soon as I got reviews the first day of the last chapter, it prompted me to write some more! Hope you guys enjoyed it! R&R!

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I think I forgot to put this up last chapter...shhhh! Don't tell anyone. But I don't own anything.

Ok, so yeah, I posted my note up, and then like five minutes later I figured that I had half of the chapter done so I might as well finish it now and we'll see what happened. So, yeah enjoy and once again, sorry for the massive delay.

* * *

Cloud was right. Junon hadn't been anything much. It was foggy and smelled bad. They had stayed one night and were off on their way.

Currently, Aeris was standing against the railing on the deck of the ship that was taking them to Costa de Sol. The sun was setting now, leaving the sky with a brilliant gradient of pink and purple. She tightened her grip on the railing and leant back, letting the wind wisp past her.

Oh how that felt good on her aching muscles. For the past three days that they had been traveling. Cloud had initiated more training not just at night, but in the morning as well. And Aeris had to give him credit, it was working. She knew how to move with him now and evade a lot of his attacks. She knew of course that he hadn't put forth all the effort he could have but he had told her on more than one occasion that he was quite impressed.

Actually hitting Cloud back was another problem. She could swing and miss and swing and miss and then finally when she had gotten fast enough to hit him, he had always blocked her. Well, at least that was a start. Not to mention Aeris' magic had improved as well, if not faster than her actual fighting.

"You should be below deck now." Cloud announced, sneaking up behind her.

He walked up past Aeris and put his arms forth on the railing, leaning into it.

"The sun's only just setting."

"I know. But we dock early tomorrow morning. We'll be up at five."

Aeris shuddered and put on a look of disgust, "Eugh, that's too early for me."

Cloud grinned, "I know, but I also know you're still tired and sore from fighting."

"True."

"You could just heal yourself." he suggested.

Aeris shook her head, "No, it's not like I'm stressing myself or anything. I know I'll feel even better when my muscles start to relax. Besides, it's good for me."

Cloud smiled, "Good, I was hoping you would say that. Now get to bed."

"What are you? My mother?"

He shrugged, "If that's what you're into, then whatever, just get into the cabin before I drag you down there because I know if you don't then you won't be waking up tomorrow."

She sighed with defeat and let go of the railing, "Yeah, I can't say anything to that. Let's go."

* * *

Dear lord the cabin bed was comfy. Aeris thought to herself in her half awake, half asleep state. She was in a perfect state of bliss right now. To sleepy to move, and yet awake enough to enjoy it.

Then Cloud had to ruin it.

"Up."

"...No."

"Come on," he pressed, pulling the covers off her, "we're gonna be late, we're docking in 15 minutes."

Aeris clutched what little blankets she had left and curled up into a ball, "Ohh but I don't want to."

Cloud furrowed his brows and reached down and grabbed her by the waist, picking her up and pulling her out of bed.

"There, see? Not hard." he said, putting her in a standing position that she didn't quite get a hold of yet.

He kept a firm hold on her waist to keep her from wobbling back down into the bed, "Don't make me dress you too."

"Alright, alright, I'm up." she sighed.

"Good then. Get dressed, don't do anything else. No shower, no hair, no make-up. We don't have time."

"But I need to at least put my make-up on." she whined.

"No you don't. You look better without it anyways." he spoke quickly and headed out of the room, "Now hurry up while I go get our stuff ready."

Aeris groaned and threw off her pj's and replaced them with her dress. She then packed up her bags and trudged lazily out onto the deck where Cloud was waiting for her.

"Where's your bike?" she asked.

"Still down below. The guy down there said he'd park it in front of the hotel seeing as how it'll take a while to get out."

"Ah ok."

"Hey, look." Cloud pointed. "We're here."

* * *

When Cloud had told her that Costa de Sol was nice, she didn't think it would be like "tropical paradise" nice! After they had gone and got a room, Aeris had dismissed all tiredness and wanted to go have fun. Cloud had objected and told her to wait a while. Apparently nine in the morning was "a little while".

Aeris had agreed to do something he had wanted though, seeing as how this whole trip she had gotten to do what she wanted, and the fact that Cloud had worked his ass off all the previous week.

"I want to relax." he had told her.

"Where?"

"Anywhere."

How did he get himself stuck at the beach again? Oh well, at least he was near sleeping. Aeris had persuaded him to join her in the water, but he much preferred lying on his beach chair complete with umbrella.

Occasionally she'd leave him alone. No more than twenty minutes though. This whole time Cloud had been blocking out as many voices as he could to try and sleep. Except for Aeris, just so that he could respond with a 'no' after each comment she made. His ears picked up her voice talking now. Only...it wasn't to him. Cloud lifted his arm off his forehead and scanned the beach. Not too far to him, on his right there was Aeris, talking to some guy who asked her to play frisbee.

He watched them toss it back and forth, engaging in mild conversation and giggling. Cloud groaned with annoyance. He was starting to be a little too protective of her. Or was he becoming possessive? He continued to watch them until Aeris eyes found his.

She quickly tossed the frisbee back to her partner and waved goodbye, then jogged over to Cloud's chair. Without hesitation, she sat herself right down on his lap, facing him. Cloud gasped, "Ahh! Cold! You're still dripping from the water."

"Now will you join me? You're already wet now."

"Not all of me."

Aeris pursed her lips with thought for a moment before shaking her wet hair on him. Covering his bare torso in droplets.

"There." she said with satisfaction.

"Good job." he smirked, "Now I have to go get changed."

"Clouuuud. Come on." she begged as he grabbed her hips and lifted her off of himself, much to his dismay. Who was he to complain when she decided to straddle him in a bathing suit? But right now he just felt like bugging her.

"I'll swim with you tomorrow." he called back to her and he walked towards the hotel. "I promise."

"Wait!" she shouted and ran after him, "Can we do something I want tonight?"

"Yeah sure."

As they walked back to the hotel, Aeris pondered to herself on what they could do this evening. It was her first night in town and she wanted it to be fun.

Just as the thought entered her mind, she caught sight of a small building that she hadn't seen on the way there.

"Cloud, what is that place?"

He stopped and turned, "Oh that...that's the bar." he answered, "Well actually it's a club too, I think." he corrected himself.

Perfect.

"Can we go tonight?" she asked innocently.

Cloud stared at her, "No...please no."

"Oh Cloud please!" she gripped his hands. "You said we could do something I wanted. Come on!"

It was true, he did say that.

The look he gave her looked like someone had just ripped out his heart and threw it on the floor. "I..."

Aeris pouted her lip and made the saddest face she could muster.

Cloud sighed deeply, "Fine." he gave in. "But I'm not staying for long."

Her sad face immediately shifted to an excited one, "Eee! Thank you Cloud!" she said throwing her arms around him "Now let's go shopping!"

Cloud's expression went from glum to horrified. "Ohhhhh no. The only reason I agreed to go to the club is cause I can get so drunk that I won't know where I am. But I am NOT going shopping."

"But I need some clothes."

"Then _you_ can go shopping. I have all the clothes I need."

Aeris let him go, "Ah, you're no fun."

"I know."

She laughed at him, "I'll make you have fun tonight. It'll be a personal goal of mine."

"I'm sure that won't happen." Cloud stated and began walking again.

Aeris moved to catch up with him, "Sure it will, I'll let you dance with me."

"I don't dance."

"I can teach you?"

"No thanks."

"I'll buy all your drinks?" she offered.

"I wouldn't want you to go broke. That wouldn't be very fun now would it?" he said, taunting her.

She gave up, "Fine. Don't you worry, I'll think of something."

"Uh huh." Cloud answered absently as he opened the door to the hotel and let Aeris and himself in.

Aeris grumbled and followed Cloud up the stairs and into their room. She would find a way to make his night worthwhile. But for now, she needed some clothes. She grabbed her bag and got changed in the bathroom.

"I'll be back soon." she announced, "Where do you wanna go for supper?"

"How about we just go to the restaurant upstairs?" he suggested.

"Sure thing, I'll meet you up there in two hours kay?"

"Two hours eh? How many outfits are you getting?" Cloud teased.

Aeris crossed her arms, "Not a lot. Hey, I want to just look around town too. I'm not a heavy shopper you know. You're lucky." she pointed out, "If I were like most girls you would be shopping at least six hours a day in each town we came across."

Cloud chuckled, "Oh, I think I'd make sure that didn't happen."

Aeris rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Well at least I haven't tried to do that."

"Alright I'll give you that, just hurry up and get outta here. The faster this night goes by, the better."

She shook her head and laughed, "Sure thing Cloud, I'll see you later."

* * *

Unbelievably enough, the two hours went by way too fast for Cloud. Oh how he was not impressed with the way the evening was planned. Well, Aeris did want to see the town...and have fun. He guessed that was reason enough for going.

Since it was now eight o'clock Cloud assumed she would be in the restaurant fairly soon so he had already taken the liberty of grabbing a place to sit. And chances were they would be heading out as soon as they were done eating.

Now she was ten minutes late. Wasn't really a big deal, but normally she was more the early type. Cloud had already ordered a drink and had been sitting patiently. He hoped nothing had happened to her. Nah...He was just being paranoid.

"Sorry I'm late." a voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "I went back to the room to get dressed and fix my hair." Aeris said, sitting down and picking up a menu.

Cloud stared at her, his mouth open slightly. She had let her hair down and put it in loose curls. She had bought what looked like a white, sleeveless, collarless blouse type shirt with a low V neck buttoned up and leaving a decent amount of her stomach showing. She was also wearing a light pair of jean capris and flip flops.

"You like what I bought then?" Aeris said, catching Cloud off guard. She had been looking at him for some time now, pleased with the reaction he had been giving her.

He looked away from her, and felt his cheeks burn slightly.

She giggled at his embarrassment, "I see you've taken the time to dress up." she teased even more.

"Yeah well, I don't really care all that much." he commented.

Truthfully, if she had walked in here and saw him with a flashy Hawaiian shirt and dress pants, she would have dragged him back to the hotel and shoved him in exactly what he was wearing right now. He had on just a plain black t-shift and loose pants...but not ridiculously loose.

"You know I'm kidding right, Cloud? You look good."

"Uh...thanks?" he muttered, unsure of what to say.

She laughed at him but let it go, "Have you ordered anything yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Sorry I was late." Aeris apologized.

Cloud smiled, "Nah, ten minutes is hardly late."

"Thanks."

Not too long after, the two had ordered and finished their food.

"You said we were staying a week?" Aeris confirmed.

"Yeah I figured we might as well right?" Cloud said, leaning back lazily in the booth.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's really relaxing here, and there are actually things to do. But I'm also excited to see Wutai."

"Wutai is beautiful. It's a place all its own." Cloud told her.

"Really?"

"Well it's on an island so the Wutains have different customs and cultures than we do."

"I can't wait to see it then!" Aeris exclaimed.

"May I take your plates?" a waiter came up and asked.

"Sure thanks." Cloud said, handing them to him.

"I guess we should go?" Aeris suggested.

"Sure," he agreed.

* * *

They walked outside along the streets which still had quite a few people roaming them. Aeris tilted her head up and let a warm breeze flow past her as she inhaled the smell of the water.

"It's so nice out." she commented.

"Yeah, it really is." Cloud agreed, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Do you wanna go to the beach after?"

Aeris looked at him, surprised that he would ask such a thing. She thought he was still tired.

"I would love too."

"Good." he smiled.

They continued their walk in a comfortable silence before the sound of music could be heard not too far away.

Aeris was suddenly having second thoughts about dragging Cloud here. He really didn't seem like he wanted to go.

"Cloud," she spoke. He looked down at her, "We don't have to go, I'm sorry." she stared at the ground.

Cloud grinned, "Aeris its fine. Don't listen to me. I really don't mind all that much."

"I just feel bad for making you do something you don't want to do is all."

"Forget about it alright?"

"Mmmm...Alright..." she gave in uncertainly, "But if you wanna leave, just tell me."

"Heh, alright."

After they had that settled, they kept walking.

"I'm getting so wasted..." Cloud mumbled in a pleased tone.

Aeris burst into a small fit of giggles at the mention of how he was planning to make the best of the situation, and making her laugh at the same time, knowing she had felt uncertain. Sometimes he really surprised her.

"Don't think I'm not planning on doing the same." she said as they reached the entrance to the bar.

"Well good, we'll have drinks together then." he said.

"Yeah, I find it easier to start dancing with a few drinks in me." Aeris chuckled, grabbing Cloud's hand and dragging him in.

The place wasn't very big. The bar stretched across the whole back of the room ands there was a tiny stage up front where a band was playing. The club was very dimly lit and most of the people were up dancing with one another. The amount of space they had compared to the amount of people dancing caused everyone to be close together.

Cloud watched as everyone on the dance floor pushed into their partners as much as they could, grinding against one another. He instantly regretted coming in here. He did not dance. Aeris did. That meant, she would be out there, with some stranger and getting nothing short of very friendly with him.

"C'mon," she called to him over the music, "let's get drinks."

He nodded and followed her to the bar where they each took seats on the stools. The bartender noticed them and asked Cloud what he wanted.

"Anything hard." he replied.

The bartender started mixing his drink for and handed it to him, then proceeded to make something else for Aeris.

She held up her glass to Cloud slightly, who lightly clashed his cup with hers before downing his drink in one gulp. Aeris looked at him. He really was trying to get drunk fast wasn't he? Well, she could do that too. He watched her as she followed his previous actions and finished her drink at once.

"Another then?" he asked. She smiled at him and nodded.

So they finished two more drinks slightly slower than the first and talked over the music. Cloud had to admit, this really wasn't all that bad. It was a little hot in there and the music wasn't quite his taste, but hey, whatever right?

"And then I noticed that-" Aeris stopped talking to him when she felt a small tap on her shoulder. She turned around to face someone who she didn't know. He was average height, brown curly hair, dimples. Cute.

"Care to dance?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

Cloud clutched his glass harder in his hand. Aeris looked to him and gave him a reassuring smile, "I'll be back in a bit kay?"

"Yeah ok." he responded dumbly. What was he supposed to do? Say, "No you may not go dance with him." He was in no place to order her around, and he didn't want to be. He also didn't want any other guy doing nothing more than talk to her.

He watched dully as the stranger led her out onto the dance floor and attached his hands loosely to her waist as they began to move with the rest of the crowd.

Cloud grumbled and took two more shots. _'Well,'_ he thought, _'At least they're not nearly as close as anyone else out there...it's close enough though.' _He continued to monitor the two as best as he could through the mass of people. Damn...she could dance. He always knew there was something more to her. She played innocent...and in most ways she was, but there were a few times she had surprised him. This time being one of them. Cloud felt that familiar jealous feeling making its way through his body and welling up in his chest. Another shot was almost a necessity when she wrapped her arms around her partner's neck and moved her hips so they were almost touching his. And then, Cloud was granted a moment of relief when the song ended. He sighed inwardly and kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to come back. But she didn't. After one of the bartenders made his way toward her with a tray of shots, Aeris gulped one down and turned to another man who had apparently, asked her to dance.

And so the night went on. For another long, torturous hour, Cloud sat, and drank, and kept a watchful eye on her just waiting for one of those guys to put his hand somewhere, _anywhere_ where it didn't belong so he could have someone to lash out on and take her out of here. With him.

Finally, he stared as she politely turned down the next guy who requested a dance and made her way over to him.

"I'm really sorry." she apologized. "You know I don't like turning people down. B-besides, all those guys were very polite like." she half stuttered, as Cloud expected. He watched her take a fair share of shots. He was quite surprised she didn't take a trip to the floor on her way over to him.

She picked up two shots from the bar and handed one to him. Cloud shrugged and cheered his glass with hers before swallowing the vile liquid that was slowly losing its taste.

"Come dance with me!" she yelled over the music.

He shook his head, "No way, I can't dance."

"Aww come on, Cloud!" she pleaded, running a hand through his hair.

"No way."

Aeris frowned and took a seat next to him on the closest stool, "What's wrong?" she questioned seriously.

"There's nothing wrong..."

A small smile played on her lips. Cloud was too easy, for her anyway.

"You can't lie to me, Cloud. Do you want to leave?"

He looked up at her somewhat bashfully and forced a grin, "Maybe just a little."

"Alright, then."

"You're not mad?"

She laughed at him and smiled, the alcohol maintaining its effect on her, "No. You came here for me. I can leave for you."

Cloud eyed her for a moment before taking her word for it and gave her a nod. She moved to get up and leave when he stopped her, "Wait." he said, handing her one last shot off the bar.

Aeris took it without question and they drank at the same time before she attempted to hop off the bar stool without crumbling to the floor. It didn't work too well.

Cloud laughed out loud and felt his head spin pleasantly before reaching his hand down to help her up, "Let's get out of here."

"You still up for the beach?" she slurred, wrapping her arm around his waist for support.

"Of course."

* * *

She had taken off faster than he had time to stop her as she dashed along the beach.

"You're gonna land face first in the sand you know that!" Cloud yelled to Aeris, who was still bounding away from him.

"I will not!" she countered, spinning back on her heel to face him a little too fast before landing on her bottom, right in the sand.

"What did I tell you?" he mocked, taking a seat beside her.

"Umm, that...if I kept running I was gonna fall...Which didn't happen." she said, swaying back and forth. "I fell when I stopped running."

"Ah, touché."

They both sat, listening to the waves lapping the sand at the shoreline and taking in the breeze coming in from the water for a few minutes. Relaxing in the silence.

"Sorry I made you stay so long."

Cloud shook his head, still staring into the ocean, "No, I'm sorry I made you leave so soon."

She laughed again. "Cloud, I told you, I don't mind. Really." He looked to her. "But...just a question...was it really that bad in there?" she asked, standing up.

"Well I-" he started, but never finished when Aeris abruptly stood up and took off again.

"Where are you going!" he yelled out to her.

"Back to the hotel! I'm getting cold!" she turned and called back, stumbling and almost falling over a beach chair.

Cloud rolled his eyes and took off after her. It didn't take long for him to grab a hold of her arm and slow her down to a lazy, stumbling kind of walk.

"Do I get a warning next time?"

She shrugged, "Maybe. You didn't answer my question though."

"Well you didn't let me finish." he pointed out as they rounded the corner and neared the hotel.

"Well I'm listening now."

"Ok, then no, it wasn't really that bad. The club I mean..."

Aeris looked up at him, "Well then...what was it?"

Cloud shoved his hands in his pocket and looked away from her, "Oh, it just...wasn't really, you know, my kinda...place to be. I guess? I dunno you were all out there having...fun...with that guy..."

She eyed him with a sly look on her face, "Uh huh...well...I asked you to come dance didn't I?"

"Yeah...but I can't."

"Does that bother you?"

"No."

"Did the other guy bother you?"

"Yes. I mean-no! Well..."

Aeris giggled at him, "Why? Cause he can dance and you can't."

"I dunno." Cloud was getting a little annoyed with all her questions. Well, not the questions...just her figuring all this out.

"Well you shouldn't be because I'm not really interested in a guy who can move better than I can anyways." she pointed out, opening their hotel door that they had just reached.

"Who said I was upset because I thought you were interested in him?"

Aeris shrugged and kicked off her shoes.

"I just don't want you being involved with anyone stupid or untrustworthy or anything like that." he tried to convince her.

Aeris stepped towards him and looked up at him.

"Okay Cloud." she bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh at his feeble attempts to keep any amount of secrecy that he had left. "Like I said, I was just having fun; you don't have to worry about any dancing boys alright?"

Cloud pursed his lips like an upset child, "Well than what kind of guys should I be watching out for?"

"Oh you don't know that already?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Nooo...should I?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

She shrugged, "I dunno, maybe."

Cloud was getting impatient. This whole thing was stupid anyway. At least _his_ alcohol was wearing off. Hers on the other hand, showed no signs of slowing up just yet. She was laughing, swaying, stumbling and having far much more fun than he was.

"Well, are you gonna tell me? Old guys? Young guys? Rich ones?"

Aeris rolled her eyes and placed her full hand over his mouth to silence him.

"No. Guys like you." she answered, dropping her hand slowly, and letting it rest on his chest.

Cloud stared at her for a brief moment, trying to comprehend if what she was saying was what he thought and hoped she was implying.

He didn't get much time to think about anything before he felt her lips press up against his, lightly at first, but as soon as his body responded faster than his brain it quickly escalated.

He immediately responding, pushing into her and grasping her waist with his hands and pulling her into him before wrapping his arms fully around her.

Aeris moved her hand from his chest up to his neck, tracing it with her nails lightly, causing him to shiver, and running them through his blonde locks.

Cloud tilted his head a little more to deepen the kiss. Aeris moaned lightly when she felt his tongue suddenly moving up against hers. Grinning against his mouth, she trailed her hands down to the hem of his shirt and decided that it needed to come off.

She pulled away momentarily before lifting it up over his head. The second she tossed it aside, his mouth attacked hers again and pushed her away from the door.

She gasped when the back of her knees hit the bed and she collapsed upon it, bringing Cloud down with her.

She gripped at his hips and pushed them up against her own. This caused him ever more trouble than he was already having with the string on the front of her shirt.

"Damnit..." he mumbled, pulled away from her slightly so he could get a look at the small knot he was fighting with.

Aeris chuckled at him and moved her lips down to his neck as he worked her shirt. By the time her lips had reached where his neck and jaw met and she had given him a small nip, he decided it would be much more productive to just rip the string. After that was said and done with he wrapped his arm around her back and lifted her slightly to pull the rest of the garment off.

Cloud laid her back down so his eyes were transfixed on hers. This was what he had been waiting for. She was what he wanted. She was too good for him. Too perfect. Too...drunk._ 'Oh shit...'_ He pulled himself up off her and rested on his knees.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" she asked, resting on her elbows.

"I can't do this." he mumbled, not facing her.

"W-what? Why not? You don't want to?" she said, sounded almost too hurt for him to even hear.

"No...It's not that. It's just...I don't know if you really want this."

Aeris looked around confusedly and laughed nervously, "Uhh...Hello? Am I not hinting enough?"

"You're still really drunk." he stated, crawling off the bed.

"Pfft! Oh come on?" she argued, standing up, but feeling a wave of dizziness overwhelm her and falling right back on the bed.

Cloud looked down at his feet and walked over to the other bed and sat down.

"I don't want to take any advantage of you. No matter what you say now, I have no way of knowing if it's true. I'm sorry."

Aeris sighed deeply and smiled at him, "That's okay Cloud. I under-understand." she admitted, collapsing onto her pillow.

"Do you want something to put on for bed?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm." she mumbled, half passed out already.

Cloud rose from the bed and shuffled around in her bag until he found one of her tank tops and a pair of sleeping shorts.

He walked over to the bed and handed her the pajamas. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Cloud." she said, taking them out of his hand and putting them on, despite his presence in the room.

"You still wanna sleep with me?"

Cloud stared at her, "W-what? I thought I said-"

"I know what you said." she slurred, waving a hand passively at him and crawling into bed, "I meant, did you still want to sleep in the same bed as me. I sleep better, but if you don't want to..."

"No, its fine." he told her and crawled into the bed.

_'She'll probably forget this whole thing by the morning...' _Cloud cursed himself and fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

There. I hope that was okay! R&R...Please!


	14. Chapter 14

Ahh! Egads! I almost tipped over in my computer chair when there was actually a pile of reviews up in the first day of the last chapter! Thank you guys soooo much, and I know I don't respond to each individual one personally because I don't have _that_ much time on my hands. Just know that I always take each one into consideration as much as possible.

Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy, they would all be pornos. Which is why I don't.

* * *

To say she had drank too much would be an understatement. And Aeris knew that from the minute she opened her eyes. Never before had she loathed sunlight more than she did now. It not only made her eyes burn and throb, but it magnified her headache by at least ten times. 

Bringing a lazy arm up to rest on the back of her head, she wasted no time in casting a cure spell upon herself.

_'I wonder if Cloud needs one...'_ she pondered. But, as she scanned the room she found that he was nowhere in sight.

_'He must already be up and out...god, I don't even remember leaving the club last night...'_

Aeris closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders, trying to get her memories back from the previous night, but everything was coming up blank...except a few strange dreams.

'_Ugh, whatever.'_ she gave up and tossed her blanket to the side and headed for the shower.

* * *

Cloud shielded his vision from the invading sunlight as he stepped out of the bar. He had stopped by for something to eat and ended up playing a few rounds of cards. Anything was better than the awkwardness he'd most likely have to endure when he met up with Aeris again. 

He was thankful to be up before her and out of the bed. Part of him wanted her to have forgotten the whole thing, but another part of him wanted her to remember...and then maybe want to pick up where they had left off.

The last option was doubtful.

Cloud wiped the back of his sticky neck and reached behind his head to pull off his shirt. It was disgustingly humid out. Unfortunately he liked his pants too much to wear shorts.

Pulling out a chair at a nearby table near the beach, he sat down and relaxed under the shade of the umbrella while a waiter made his way over to him.

"Care for anything to drink, sir?"

"Ummm...just a water I guess." Cloud responded, throwing his arms over his head and leaning back in the chair.

The waiter returned quickly and set his glass down in front of him on the table.

"Thank you." Cloud said, picking up the glass and taking a sip.

"There you are." he heard someone close by. Turning his head in the direction away from the beach, Cloud saw Aeris heading toward him.

"I was wondering where you ran off to this morning. I woke up and you were gone. I didn't know how well you'd be feeling...I mean, god knows I don't remember a thing." she laughed and took a seat beside him.

Cloud sighed to himself and immediately felt relieved. Good, she didn't remember...which was probably for the better anyway.

"You alright there Cloud?" her voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. He had been rather quiet.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just...little bit of a headache I guess." he half lied. He really did have a headache from last night, but it wasn't bothering him.

She got up out of her seat and walked up behind him, "Oh, here." she placed her hands on either side of his head and cast her cure spell.

"Better?"

"Much. Thank you." he said, tilting his head back to look at her.

"Well," Aeris said, placing her hands on her hips and backing away from him slightly, "I'm gonna go do some more shopping and get something for my mom...speaking of which I have to call her later. You wouldn't want to come with would you?"

Cloud shook his head, "Not right now. I'm gonna go stock up on gas, and then maybe I'll meet you somewhere in the market."

"Alright then, I'll see ya later." Aeris stated cheerfully and headed up away from the beach.

* * *

The rest of the week went by fast enough. They had seen all there was to be seen and done all there was to do. Aeris sent her mom a few souvenirs and talked to her on the phone before the week was up. Cloud had taken most of the time to relax and find a few random gizmos and things for his bike. 

By the time their last day had come, both were content about getting back aboard another ship and meeting Tifa and Barret in Wutai.

"So you're about halfway there now?" Cloud spoke into the phone, kicking his cabin door open and shoving their bags inside, "Yeah. No, we just left. Yeah it was good. We won't be late...I'll drive fast."

Aeris took the liberty and taking both the bags out of the middle of the room and moving them to the corner as Cloud threw himself onto the bed and continued to talk.

"You saw her again. She got away? What is wrong with you two? If it were me? I'd just buy new stuff...listen, I'm pretty tired so I'll call you when we dock okay? Yeah. Alright. Bye."

"How are they doing?" Aeris asked, poking her head down from the top bunk which she had climbed atop.

"They still haven't caught her. They're about halfway there. We should reach the island in about six days. It'll take less than a day to bike to Wutai, the island's not too big."

"Sounds good."

The week went by fast enough. The ship's accommodations served to the both of them well, although Aeris had noticed that Cloud had become quite reserved as compared to his usual self.

"What's going on with you, Cloud?" she finally piped up during their last hours aboard the ship.

Cloud looked at her, skeptical, and sighed, "It's nothing...just being on the boat for so long I guess."

Aeris moved to sit down beside him on his bed, "Are you sure that's all? I mean...you've just been distant lately. I was worried."

Cloud looked down to his feet. Yes, he was being slightly distant, and he knew that. He hadn't meant to really...but he was confused. About everything that happened and didn't want to screw it up even more. He had taken a chance and failed. Maybe it was just the wrong time, but he wasn't sure if he would ever get up the nerve to try something like that again.

"Well, whatever it is," she started at his silence, "you can talk to me about it."

"Sure thing."

By the time they had reached shore, Cloud was so glad to finally hop back on his bike again that he had completely forgotten that he was even feeling down in the first place.

Turning his head to face Aeris, who was screaming behind him, he spoke against the wind, "Too fast?"

"No! It's fun!" she called back, latching onto his waist tighter.

At this speed, Cloud figured they'd reach Wutai in less than a few hours. Wait...Wutai...Tifa...oh that's right. He forgot to call Tifa.

Skidding to a halt in the middle of the deserted road and causing Aeris to almost fall off the side of the bike, Cloud reached into his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"I forgot to phone Tifa."

"Oh." Aeris mused, keeping a hold on him while he waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Cloud?"

"Yeah, it's me. We're docked and already on the road."

"Really!" came Tifa's excited voice from the other end.

"Yeah, and we'll make it there for dark too."

"That's awesome cause there's a thing going on in town it's gonna be fun!"

Cloud turned to give Aeris a confused look, "Uhhhmm...what about all your stolen stuff."

"We took care of it. We'll tell you when you get here, but I have to go get some things, I'll see you guys later."

"Bye."

* * *

"Is this it?" Barret asked when he and Tifa entered through a large gate that led into a beautiful little city. 

"This would be Wutai. Now let's get going." Tifa said.

Barret scratched his head, "Too bad we don't have a damn idea of where to start."

Tifa squinted her eyes and looked into the crowd, "How bout' over there?" she suggested, pointing to a swarm of bustling people and in the middle of them all, a familiar bandana was weaving it's way through it.

"There she is!" Barret said when he saw what Tifa was pointing at and they both took off into a run.

As the two made their way into the crowd, the thief turned her head quickly and let out an "Eep!" before bolting as fast as she could away from her chasers.

"Shit!" Barret yelled, receiving a few stares from the locals.

"C'mon," Tifa said, "She went that way." and began pulling Barret along.

The buildings and hustle and bustle of the town began to die down when Barret and Tifa found themselves in an open field painted in long grass, blowing in the wind. Standing lonely in the middle of the field was a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, and little did the two know, there were a pear of crimson eyes watching them perched on a branch.

"You sure she went in here, Tif?"

"I'm positive." she stated, scanning their surroundings. "This way."

Barret shrugged and followed Tifa toward the tree.

"I still don't see nothin'" he complained, leaning against the tree.

Tifa placed her hands on her hips with defeat and sighed, "We were so close too."

"You're looking for the pest aren't you?" a deep voice spoke.

Both Barret and Tifa jumped in their spots and reflexively took a fighting stance.

"Who's there?" Barret demanded.

A small motion in the thick petals of the tree caused Tifa to look up as a man swung himself from one of the top branches and landed on a lower one so they were now eye to eye.

"I know where she is." he said calmly.

"Why are you here? And helping us?" Tifa questioned right away, although at the moment she would have taken any answer he gave her. His eyes were pouring into hers as they continued to stare at each other. She couldn't see all of his face, but she didn't need to to know that he was undoubtedly very good looking.

"Hmph, I live here if you must know, and I'm helping you because she needs to be taught a lesson." he answered.

Tifa was still a little mesmerized by him. She was currently watching his long raven locks blowing in the wind alongside his deep red cape, instead of questioning him further about their "pest" problem.

"Well then, smart-ass, where is she?" Barret challenged after becoming annoyed.

The man closed his eyes slowly and sighed. He suddenly jumped off the branch with impressive speed and landed about fifty feet away from where the two were standing.

Barret and Tifa looked at him but didn't move until he waved them over. They each gave each other a small glance before following.

Sure enough, when they reached him, he had his foot securing the familiar thief on the ground where she had been hiding on her stomach. If he hadn't have helped them, who knows if they ever would have found her in such a huge area.

"Ack! Vinny let me go!" she complained, struggling under his foot.

Tifa raised an eyebrow, "Vinny?"

"Vincent." he corrected, his voice remaining smooth, "Vincent Valentine."

"Well," Tifa blushed and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "Thank you, Vincent. We probably wouldn't have found her without you."

"Not a problem. Isn't that right, Yuffie?" he said in a taunting voice as he reached down and retreived their stolen belongings.

"Ugh! Vinny, when my dad hears about how you've been being mean to me-"

"When your father hears about how you're still stealing..."

"Alright fine!" Yuffie surrendered, "You win, I'll cut it out." she pouted.

"When I let you up, you are going to apologize and then welcome these people into your mansion for a place to stay...unless they already have somewhere else planned?" Vincent said, looking to Tifa and Barret.

"Actually, we don't, thanks pal!" Barret said, giving him a friendly slap on his right arm. That's when Tifa noticed it, she didn't say anything at first though. She turned her attention toward Yuffie who was now free of Vincent's custody. The young girl looked down sheepishly at her feet.

"Yuffie." Vincent warned.

"...I'm sorry I stole from you, and I'd like to offer you a place to stay if you wish..."

Tifa smiled warmly, "Thank you, we'd very much appreciate it."

"Alright, now that that's settled!" Barret said, but stopped when he caught a glimpse of what Tifa did not a minute before him, except he was much more vocal about it.

"Whoa buddy! What happened to your arm there!" he hollered, pointing to Vincent's metal claw.

Vincent immediately shied it away under his cloak.

"Barret! It's none of your business." Tifa scolded.

"Ah, but c'mon Tif! It's really cool!" he said. Vincent looked a little taken back. Cool? Everyone in Wutai was scared of his arm.

"Maybe so, but still." she continued when she noticed how uncomfortable he looked.

"Hey," Barret guestured to Vincent, "I got one too, but I like the look of yours better!" he said, pulling out his gun arm.

Vincent stared at Barret's arm...his own was better looking, he had to admit. But he flet a strange sense of comfort knowing that he wasn't the only one with something like that. He slowly drew his arm back out again as Barret shoved his machine gun in his face, "You think it's a good one?"

"Uhhm..."

"Ah, nevermind, o' course it's good. Wouldn't be on me if it wasn't right?"

"...I suppose."

"Ah c'mon Vinny," Yuffie chimed in, giving him a small elbow, "don't be shy. I've always been tellin' ya your arm isn't anything but cool. Just cause the rest of the stiffs up here in Wutai don't like it, doesn't mean everybody else thinks the same way."

Vincent shrugged and took out his arm and found himself examining it. They were right. There was nothing extremely hideous about it...only the memories tied to it, and he was the only one that knew of them.

"I guess you're right...for once." he scoffed at Yuffie teastingly. "But we should head back and help get ready for the party tonight."

"Party?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, Yuffie's -"

"It' my birthday party!" Yuffie interupted, jumping up on Vincent who quickly brushed her off.

"Is it like a big thing?"

"For anyone of the royal Wutain family, yes. The whole town will be there."

"You mean we caught royalty stealin'?" Barret poked at Yuffie.

"Hey, hey!" she pushed his finger away, "It's not like I'm some sort of princess or anything, my family has just been here for centuries. We're the longest running Wutain bloodline and my dad kinda runs the show around here...with the approval of the town of course." she explained. "You guys are invited too then."

"Really?" Tifa asked. "...Is it alright if a few friends who are on their way here join too?"

"Sure!" Yuffie agreed, "The more the merrier!"

"Riiight then..." Vincent said, pushing Yuffie along, "We need to get going."

* * *

Yeah...still got the writer's block, but I thought I'd change it up a little...just in case anyone was wondering what Tifa and Barret were up to...probably not. But, I had to put Vincent in here...he's too sexy to not be in anything, really. Anyway, sorry but it looks like the chapters will still be coming out slowly and for those of you still reading, it really does mean a ton to me! R&R as always! 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII...aww.

Sorry for anyone who thinks there might be some Yuffentine in here. I always thought the idea of Vincent being like eleven years older than Yuffie was kinda iffy. If I put any other couple in here, (which I don't know if I am) it would probably be a bit of Vincent/Tifa :P

* * *

"Is this it?" Aeris asked, climbing off the bike and walking toward the large wall that enclosed Wutai. 

"This is Wutai." Cloud said, walking his bike over.

"Do I just open the gate?"

"Yup."

Aeris unsurely pushed at the gate, which was surprisingly easier to move than she thought it would be and let herself in with Cloud following not too far behind her. The sight of the town made her gasp.

Cloud supposed they had made it just in time for the party. Not only were the cherry blossom trees in full bloom, but they were lit up in sharp contrast with the night sky thanks to string paper lights that were strung up all over the place.

All the dcorations were an added bonus as well to the already picturesque town. No one had noticed them yet since they were standing in the dark and were making their way over to the town square where everyone was engaged in the loud music and drinking and dancing.

"This is so awesome." Aeris commented breathlessly.

"You're telling me...I'd better phone Tifa. We're never gonna find her." Cloud groaned and pulled out his phone.

It rang a little longer than it should have before Tifa picked up.

"Hello!"

"Tifa?"

"Cloud!" There was music going on in the background, Cloud figured she must've been in the middle of the party.

"Yeah, it's me! Where are you?"

"I just got out to the party! Meet me at the big house over on the west side of town! Do you know which one I'm talking about!"

Cloud laughed, "Yeah, yeah. I do, just hurry up will ya."

"OK! See you in a bit!"

"What did she say?" Aeris asked anxiously.

"We're going to meet them. Follow me."

Cloud led Aeris behind all the main buildings so they didn't get lost in the huge crowd. What do you suppose all this is for?" she inquired.

"No idea. I'm not one to know customs of Wutai."

She sped up a little to walk beside him, "Are you gonna dance with me tonight then?"

Cloud looked down at her, "...I can't really dance."

"That's okay."

"...Maybe."

She laughed, "I'll settle for maybe."

He gave her a small grin before looking ahead to where they were going, "This way." he pointed.

The sounds of the loud music and shouting were still quite clear, but compared to how loud it was when they arrived, it had died down due to how far away the two had walked.

"Cloud, are you sure you know where you're going?" Aeris asked, noticing how much more quiet and secluded it was.

"Yeah I'm sure. Don't worry...actually, the house is right over there." he raised his hand the pointed.

Aeris had to squint her eyes to see what he was pointing at in the dark.

"...Oh! That's a house? It's huge!"

"Yeah, and I'm assuming that's the house Tifa was talking about." Cloud said.

"Well I hope you're right. We'll look pretty stupid showing up at the wrong place."

He shrugged, "Oh well. Let's go."

* * *

Cloud banged as hard as he could on the large wooden door once they had reached the house. 

"I'll get it!" a light, feminine voice called out from inside.

The sound of boots running could be heard and they were getting closer.

"Can I help you?" a young girl who Cloud presumed was around 16, asked.

He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him, "Oh! You must be Tifa's friends! She told me you were coming, c'mon in" she greeted.

"Thanks."

"I'm Yuffie." she said, sticking out her hand.

Cloud reached out his own hand and grasped hers, "Cloud."

Aeris followed him and shook hands with the girl, "Aeris."

"You guys arrived just in time for my birthday!" she said excitedly.

Aeris looked at her in awe, "You mean all this is for you?"

"Yup." Yuffie stated proudly. "Well, Tifa ran off with Vincent a few minutes ago before you guys came..."

Cloud gave Aeris a small smirk before asking, "Who's Vincent?"

"Oh, he's just a friend of my dad's." she dismissed the subject before walking off and signalling for them to follow.

* * *

"Where did Barret go?" Tifa asked, looking out the window of the lush sitting room in Yuffie's house. 

"I think he went to get more beer..." Vincent replied from over on the couch.

Tifa kind of wish he hadn't left. She didn't feel all too comfortable with Vincent alone. There was nothing wrong with him, she had no problem with him and he seemed like a good guy but he was just so intimidating. Like he could get any secret ouf of you just by looking at you, or make you do whatever he wanted just by asking. It was unsettling and intriguing to Tifa all at the same time.

"So," she cleared her throat, "how come you didn't dress up for the occasion?"

Vincent shrugged and stretched out his legs, "I suppose I'm not really one for dressing up."

Tifa walked away from the window and sat down beside him, "Well that's no fun."

He shrugged again, but didn't say anything this time.

Tifa's gaze went toward his hand again and couldn't help but ask, "How did you get that?"

He swallowed with discomfort, "Someone put it on me."

"By force?"

"Yes."

"Can you move it like you're own hand?"

He lifted up his arm and stared at it, "It's strange. I'm not sure if I still have my arm or not. It moves perfectly and reacts like it my arm usually did, but I can't take this thing off."

"Do you fight often?" Tifa questioned.

"Often enough."

"And, you use a gun right?"

"...That's right. Why?" he asked, confused. No one ever asked him such personal questions ever. No one ever cared to.

"I'm just curious. What happens when you have to fight in close combat."

Vincent scoffed, "A gun can shoot close up."

Tifa rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but you should always have backup. I bet you'd be really good at hand to hand combat with that thing." she pointed out, lifting up his hand.

Vincent reflexively pulled away.

"What? Did I hurt you?"

"...No." he said. "I'm just not used to people touching me, let alone touching this." he waved his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think anything of it-"

"Hey!"

Tifa almost jumped when the door busrt open and Yuffie walked in with Cloud and Aeris not far behind her.

"Cloud!" she stood up and hurried over to him.

"Hey Tif."

"Hey, Aeris. I'm glad you guys could make it on time." Tifa said with a smile.

"Me too, I'm excited to party!" Aeris said.

Tifa looked to her, "Do you have anything to wear?" she asked, "Cause it's like this fun dress up thing!"

Cloud and Aeris both looked down to what Tifa was wearing. She had on a dark blue wrap and tie around skirt that came up to her mid thighs and a sleeveless top of the same color that wrapped around her neck and left a bit of her stomach showing. Her hair was also done up with chopsticks, which was a rarity for her.

"Aww! I wanna get dressed up!" Aeris complained, "But I don't have anything to wear."

"Hey don't worry!" Yuffie butted in, "I have more tradtional Wutain party clothes. They're pretty much like the ones I gave Tifa, except in different colors if you don't mind?"

Aeris grinned, "No, that would be great, thanks!"

"Alright, let's go!" Yuffie said, grabbing her arm as the three girls ran down the hallway and into another room, leaving the guys alone.

"Are you Vincent?" Cloud asked, walking over to the chair opposite of the couch and sitting down.

Vincent nodded. "Cloud, right?"

"Yep... So...how did you meet Tifa and Barret?"

"They were looking for Yuffie, so I helped them."

Cloud shook his head, "Wait, Yuffie was the one that stole from them? And now they're all friendly?"

"Yup." Vincent chuckled, "She's got that effect on people. Can weasel her was out of anything that one."

"I see." Cloud commented, "Hey, where is Barret anyway?"

Vincent shrugged, "Went to get drunk."

"I want to join him. That, and get out of here before the girls come back to try and dress me up..."

Vincent gave him a smirk, "Sorry, I have no idea where exactly he went...but don't worry, you'd be doing more dressing down than up. All the guys have to wear is pants.

Cloud blinked. "So all the guys walk around shirtless...around each other all night...that seems a little iffy to me."

"That's why I'm not out there."

"Well, since I don't know where Barret is, I guess I have no choice but to stay here."

'Too bad."

* * *

"Ok. so what do you want me to do with your hair?" Yuffie asked excitedly looking at Aeris in the mirror, who was sitting on a stool. 

"Oh, um, I dunno, do whatever you want with it."

"Really! Okay, I'm breaking out the chopsticks again, but don't worry, it won't be the exact same as Tifa's!"

Aeris laughed, "Ha, alright."

Yuffie began immediate work on her hair as soon as she had gotten dressed. She had been right about the outfit, it was virtually the same as Tifa's, but neither of them minded, except the shirt was a very light shade of pink and the skirt was a deep redish-pink.

"Okay, let's see..." Yuffie mumbled to herself while brushing out Aeris hair. She then reached out onto her desk and grasped two chopsticks in one of her hands while still working.

"You're really good at this." Aeris cimmented.

"Thanks!"

"Yeah, you should have seen how quick she did my hair." Tifa pointed out. "Actually, I just realized I left Cloud alone with Vincent. So I think I'm gonna go keep them both company, I'll see you guys in a bit." she said and headed out the door.

* * *

Tfa walked back into the sitting room to find, to her surprise, Vincent and Cloud talking casually. She stopped and stood there silently. Who knew two socially challenged people could get along so well? 

"Hey, Tifa." Cloud said first when he noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Hello." she greeted and took a seat next to Vincent.

"Are you guys almost done in there?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, Yuffie is just finishing Aeris' hair."

Cloud sat up straight in his seat, "You wouldn't happen to know where Barret went do you?"

She shook her head, "Not a clue."

"Damn."

"Just one more little touch..and...there! Perfect!" Yuffie said, stepping back and admiring her work.

"Yuffie, that looks so good! Thanks!" Aeris said, standing up, "Now I just have to get some shoes, you said they were in your closet?"

"Umm yeah," she answered a little distracted, "Listen, it's 8:30, and I gotta get outside, so pick whatever ones you want okay?"

"Sure, thanks again."

"Yuffie flashed her a smile, "No problemo! I'll see ya out there!" she finished and took off out into the other room.

Yuffie continued to jog down the long hallway until she reached the sitting room where the others were.

"And then we realized - Hey! Yuffie!" Tifa called to her as she zoomed past them.

"What?" she said hurridly.

"Where's Aeris?"

"She just putting on shoes, but I gotta be outside! C'mon!"

"Uh-okay!" Tifa stood up and ran outside to party, "See you guys out there!"

"Well then..." Vincent shifted his weight on the couch. "I suppose we can only hold it off for so long. Luck for Barret, he escaped to the bar or something."

Cloud sighed and stood up, stretching in the process, "Well, I don't think it'll be that bad. I'm kinda lookin' forward to having fun with everyone. But, I better go get Aeris. I'll see ya."

"So long."

Cloud exited the room and wandered down the narrow hallway, passing various rooms, wondering which one Aeris was in. He began to move more slower to see of hear could hear any movement in them.

As he passed by one door, he pressed his ear closer and heard shuffling, so he knocked lightly.

Aeris had just finished finding the perfect pair of comfy, yet elegant flip flops. She sat down on the bed and undid her own shoes, placing them neatly on the floor beside her. After she had slippedo n one shoe, she heard a faint knock on the door.

"Come in." she said, not bothering to look up, but instead focuses on her other sandal.

"Hey."

Aeris lifted her head up, "Oh! Cloud, hey!" she said brightly and stood up. "Like my party outfit?" she asked, giving a little twirl.

She looked at him with utmost confusion when he didn't answer her. He just continued to stare.

"Cloud...?"

He almost didn't hear her voice. The moment he walked into the room he knew he was in trouble. She didn't even see him at first, but then she stood up and flaunted around a bit. Her outfit, her hair, the shoes, everything she was wearing - no, everything about her had him stopped dead in his tracks, and not for the first time. Only now, he had nowhere to go.

What was she asking him? If she looked nice? Of course she did, but he couldn't move his mouth to get the words out. All this time of keeping everything inside had suddenly taken over him and forced his legs to move toward her.

She was still looking at him quite confusedly when he began approaching her, but she said nothing. Aeris raised an eyebrow at him as he moved closer, trying to decipher what he was doing. Suddenly he slowed his movements and stopped right in front of her. Extremely close in front of her.

Aeris felt her breath hitch in her throat at his sudden closeness. She had to glace up to catch a glimpse of his face. He continued to stare at her, not for long though, before she noticed a faint smirk appear on his lips before he pressed them firmly onto her own.

Her first reaction was utter shock. She felt her eyes widen at the sensation, but found them close almost instantly when he opened his mouth slightly, and pushed her to do so as well.

He grinned when he felt her respond and pulled back slightly, only to have her push up onto her tip toes to reach him.

Cloud could just_ feel_ her getting annoyed that she couldn't quite get high enough so she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him down to her for another kiss, which she quickly took control of.

He felt his own arms entwine themselves around her, pulling her fully against him when she pushed her tongue into his mouth and up against his own. His head was swimming.

Cloud once again felt his feet moving on their own, leading them to the edge of the bed...this all felt strangely like deja vu.

Aeris let out a small shriek when her knees buckled out unexpectedly on the bed, but quickly regained her posture and pulled Cloud down on top of her.

He was kissing her again, very hastily, like he had been wanting to let this out for ages but it didn't matter how hurried it felt, either way he was _really_ good at it. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt his warm hands creeping their way up her shirt.

Her senses suddenly heightened and he was all she could think about. All this was happening so fast and she was glad when he pulled his mouth off hers and moved down to her neck, sending shivers running throughout her entire body.

Aeris gave Cloud a questioning look when his head suddenly looked upwards toward the door.

"What's...?"

She didn't get time to finish before he pulled himself off of her and grabbed her hand to pull her up just as the door opened to reveal Tifa and Vincent.

"What is taking you guys so long?" Tifa asked.

Aeris tried to compile the last five seconds in her head as quickly as possible before responding, "I had to find some shoes."

"Oh, okay! Let's go then!" Tifa rushed forward and grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her room. She was in too much of a hurry to notice her slightly messed up hair and flushed face before taking off out the door.

Vincent, on the other hand gave Cloud a smug smirk and spoke up, "Anywhere but in Yuffie's house."

Cloud opened his mouth to explain, but Vincent was out the door before he got the chance.

"You'd better hurry up, Cloud." he called out to him.

Cloud ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh and smiled; the night was only going to get better.

* * *

Chapter 15! C'est fini! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review, I need the input kay!

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII. But if I did, you could bet your asses it would be a porno!

Okay, so this chapter is a little…different. Now that I have some different characters, I decided to show what's going on with them as well, but only for this chapter and maybe one more.

* * *

Everything happened so fast. No more than five minutes tops. Aeris and Tifa had run out the door and Cloud had walked with Vincent out into the sitting room. Vincent offered Cloud a drink, so he took it. He almost spit it back out. It was the most repulsive thing he'd ever put in his mouth… and it made his head spin immediately. The second Cloud had pounded the drink back, Barret had made a grand entrance by stumbling into the room.

"Spikey! That you? Been waitin' for ya!" he yelled too loudly across the small room.

"I've been waiting for _you_. Where have _you_ been?" Cloud countered.

Barret pointed at the door with a huge grin on his face, "At the bar, fool! They're givin' away free drinks tonight! I couldn't pass that up!"

"Really?"

"Hells yeah! Where d'ya think I got all these?" he exclaimed, opening his vest to reveal a few full beers.

Cloud shook his head and chuckled, "Only you would do something like that Barret."

Barret waved him off and walked over to him and Vincent and handed them each one of his beers, "Drink up pansies!" he ordered.

Cloud was in too good of a mood to argue with anything right now and downed his whole drink in a matter of seconds. Vincent however, was in no real hurry and took his time while still remaining speedy.

"Well," Barret said while wiping his mouth off, "Now that we all done in here, what say you we get our asses outside?"

The other two men complied by following Barret out the door, occasionally having to push him in the right direction when he accidentally went astray. Cloud couldn't help but laugh every time he watched his friend making a feeble attempt to walk along the dark path into the center of the town. Vincent stayed behind the two quietly.

"You don't seem like the party type to me, Vincent." Cloud commented.

"I'm not. But, you don't seem it either."

"I'm usually not. So, why are you making an exception tonight?"

Vincent shrugged, "Special occasion. You?"

"Same…kind of."

"I see."

"One of you asses get over here an' help me up!" Cloud turned back around to see Barret face down in a pile of bushes.

"I'm not looking out for you for the whole night, Barret." He warned, grasping his arm and pulling him upright.

"I know! I don't need your help. Jus' can't uh…see over here is all!" Barret growled, yanking his arm away.

Any casual talk after that was almost pointless. The music had gotten considerably loud as the three men entered the town center where everyone was drunk off their asses and dancing.

'_How the hell am I going to find Tifa and Aeris in here?'_ Cloud thought to himself. He pushed his way in through the crowd, losing Vincent and Barret in the process. Telling one person from the next was near impossible since they were all moving. Cloud began to keep his eyes open for any female that wasn't already hooked onto a guy in hopes of finding his friends.

It wasn't until he reached the middle of the crowd that the heat began to get to him. People were practically up against him, moving and jumping around. He wiped off his forehead, then removed his gloves and shoved them into his pocket and kept moving, making his way toward the large speakers that were the source of the blaring music throughout the town.

On his way over, a hand gripped onto his arm and spun him around almost violently. Cloud was caught off-guard when a girl unexpectedly began dancing with him a little too close for his liking. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed the nearest guy he saw and pushed him into his place and walked off.

As Cloud kept venturing deeper and deeper into the mob, he spotted three familiar figures all moving in rhythm with the rest of the crowd. _'Finally.'_ He pushed his way through more people until he fully spotted Tifa, Aeris and Yuffie; all lost in the music and fun. They were all dancing close to one another, but each of them had a male partner attached to them. Cloud sent a death glare to the one that had a hold on Aeris. The guy was too busy looking at her though to even notice him moving closer. Tifa had been first to register his presence.

"Cloud! About time!" she yelled. Aeris must have heard her because she looked up directly at him and smiled instantly when she saw him.

Cloud smiled back when he watched her turn around and pat the guy on the shoulder, before taking off towards him.

"Sorry I took off like that. Tifa didn't give me much of a choice." She said, gripping his waist and pulling him against her tightly.

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter. I found you didn't I?"

"That you did. …Dance with me?" she asked, tilting her head.

He hesitated, "Umm….. I really don't know – "

"Just _move_ with me." She instructed, pushing harder against him. The initial feeling of her attached to him was enough to make his body react to what she wanted, and within moments, they were just two more people sucked into the crowd.

Tifa was having all but the time of her life up until she glanced at where Aeris had been standing, only to find that she wasn't there anymore. She moved her eyes around the crowd until she spotted her not too far off…with Cloud. Well, she had figured that had happened at some point during the time they had been away, but witnessing it was an entirely different thing. Tifa instantly felt her body drain of all energy and happiness and reluctantly told her dancing partner she had to go before pushing her way out of the crowd.

She wandered out past the center and past the newly lit bon fire before someone called her name. Tifa looked around but saw no one, until she heard it again. This time she looked up. Sitting on a nearby rooftop, was Vincent.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked.

"I'm not much of a dancer." He admitted, standing up and jumping off the roof next to Tifa.

"Are you leaving?" he questioned.

She rubbed her arm nervously, "Um, for a little bit. I just needed to get some fresh air… go for a little walk."

Vincent nodded with understanding, "I'll accompany you then. It's dangerous for a young woman to walk at night alone…provided you don't mind my company?"

Tifa shook her head, "No, not at all, I would actually rather enjoy it."

They wordlessly walked off side by side out of the party area and into the more quiet side of town before Vincent spoke up. "Aren't you glad to see your friends again?"

Tifa looked up at him, "Yeah…yeah sure I am."

"You don't look too happy." He noted.

"I am…there are just some things that I have to think about."

"Fair enough."

They continued to wander until they made it out into the field they had met in earlier that afternoon. Tifa barely noticed how far they had walked. She had spaced out almost completely before Vincent gripped her arm lightly until she stopped moving.

"We shouldn't head any farther." He said, releasing his grip.

"Oh, sorry, I was kinda out of it." She said dully and looked down. Before she could do anything to prevent it, Tifa felt a few tears escape silently from the corners of her eyes and slide down her cheeks.

Vincent tilted his head down to get a look at her face when he spotted the tears, "Tifa, are you alright?" he asked with concern.

She didn't respond, but instead threw herself into his arms. Vincent caught her, off guard, not knowing quite what to do with a sobbing girl.

She buried her face in his chest and clenched his cape in her hands.

"Tifa? Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist in hopes to sooth her.

She pulled away from his slightly and looked into his eyes, "Oh, god, I'm sorry Vincent. I'm a total wreck…" she moved to leave, but he kept her in his arms.

"Tifa, it's ok, I don't mind, but if you told me what was going on I might be able to help."

Tifa bit her lip and thought. How could Vincent help…? Well, she had already told him earlier today about how Cloud and Aeris left Midgar unexpectedly together, so that part he already knew.

"It's just…ugh, I'm so stupid." She scoffed, wiping her eyes.

"No you're not." He spoke seriously, in a smooth tone. "Having feelings for Cloud does not make you stupid."

Tifa's gaze snapped back towards his glowing crimson eyes, "How did you know that?"

Vincent smirked slightly, "I'm a very good judge of character, and I'm able to read people quite well."

"Oh…"

"And I know from personal experience that fretting over someone who does not return your feelings is near pointless, no matter how difficult it is not to. It didn't get me anywhere. You just have to…find something to make it better."

Tifa locked her eyes with his, "…Something to make it better?"

He nodded.

She didn't know why it was the first thing that came to her mind. She especially didn't know why her body reacted to the thought and actually went through with it. But she couldn't stop herself when she reached up and kissed him. He didn't pull away at first, probably too surprised to. So, she kept her lips locked on his and for a few blissful seconds she really did forget that she had just been crying. That is, until he broke apart from her.

"I'm sorry." Was that first thing spoken and it had come out of Tifa's mouth.

"That's…alright." He said with confusion evident in his voice.

She looked down at her feet. At least he still hadn't let go of her, "…You said to find something to make it better…and that was the first thing I thought of."

"Ah," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Well it's nice to know I'm thought of as the primary replacement."

"Vincent! I didn't mean it that way-" She tried to explain.

Vincent chuckled and silenced her, "It's okay, I know. I just don't want you to do anything you'll regret afterwards in a vulnerable state. I've seen it happen before…and I don't like letting mistakes happen twice."

Tifa nodded and laid her head back down on his chest and gave him a squeeze, "Thanks." She said before pulling away.

"Had enough of a walk for one night?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

* * *

Cloud had decided some time ago that "dancing" was the most frustrating feeling ever. He had shed his shirt long ago due to the heat, and his whole body had become damp with sweat in a mere few minutes. He had mixed feelings on the whole situation; he had no quarrel about the actual dancing part anymore, it was an addicting feeling to be moving with a steady beat, especially with Aeris still pressed close against him. The one time he had actually stopped, he felt his legs almost itching to be moving again. Not to mention he was tired. His breathing had become slow and ragged against her neck and his throat was parched, but he couldn't just bring himself to pull away. Then of course there was the closeness. There was only so much that could be done to relieve the tension with clothes on, and being in a public place. Keeping a slow, steady rhythm against one another was all they could do…for now. It seemed to be working for everyone else just fine. Cloud didn't want to stop, but at the same time he knew he was just thinking about up and leaving and dragging Aeris along with him.

Up until now, they had been virtually silent to one another, so as soon as Cloud felt her nails lightly grazing up and down over his shoulder blades, he knew she wanted his attention. He let out a soft moan at the relaxing feeling being washed over him as he felt Aeris lips press upon his ear a few times before asking him, "Are you ready to get out of here yet?" she spoke against him.

"I am if you are." He replied, slightly surprised to find that his voice had become heavily raspy.

"Good." She mused, "Then let's go."

* * *

Yuffie was having the time of her life right now. It still hadn't completely sunk in that this entire celebration was all for her. Everywhere she went people were giving her drinks, or cheers, or hugs. She had just finished telling the guy who she was dancing with that she needed a break; which she did. She was way beyond out of breath at the moment and just about ready to collapse on the spot.

She suddenly felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. She was about to turn around and tell this guy he'd have to wait, but she lost her nerve when she faced him. He was _way_ too cute to pass up. He gave her a cocky smirk, "Are you the birthday girl?"

Yuffie nodded silently before speaking up, "Hey, aren't you a little over dressed?" she asked, eyeing his suit that contrasted heavily with his fiery hair.

"Well," he said, "I'm really just passing through I guess. I'm lookin' for some…_friends_…of mine."

"I see." Yuffie mused, placing her hands on her hips, watching his eyes wander over her "Well, I'm pretty sure they're most likely off having fun tonight. You should stay and treat me to a dance."

The man grinned, "I'd be delighted to." He agreed, gripping onto her hips and moving her closer.

"I'm Yuffie."

"Reno."

* * *

Tifa and Vincent had walked back into town shortly after their little moment in the field.

"Do you feel like going back to the party?" Vincent asked her.

"Nah, that whole thing was kind of a buzz kill. I think I'll just go back to Yuffie's. Are you going back?"

"Hmph…No I don't think so. I only went to keep a watch on Yuffie, but she's been fine all night so I don't think I really need to be there."

"Will you come with me then?" Tifa asked.

"Yes."

Vincent noticed Tifa had stopped frowning. That was a good sign right? "Are you feeling any better?"

She gave him a small smile, "Hmm, I am actually. Thank you."

"What did I do?"

Tifa shrugged, "You said stuff that made sense. That, and you didn't make me feel like an idiot…when I kissed you."

He looked forward and nodded, "Ah, I see. Was I right about that then? You're calmed down now; do you still feel like doing anything with me would have made you feel better?"

Tifa blushed madly. What was she supposed to say? _'Yes, actually, it probably would have, and even if it didn't make me feel better it would have been fun anyways.'_ Or just lie and say, _'No, nothing good would have come out of it, and why would_ I_ want to sleep with _you_ in the first place?_' which would undoubtedly be a bruise to his feelings and ego. She looked down quickly at her feet and gave a nervous laugh, "…Is that supposed to be some kind of trick question?"

Vincent smirked, "Not at all."

"…I still don't know how I should answer it."

"Well, I can either just take it as a compliment, or take it as you not wanting to hurt my feelings. Either way, I'm flattered."

"Sounds good to me. Hey, have you seen Barret yet?" she asked, changed the subject.

"Actually I have. He came in a few minutes after you left. I lost him though. He was stumbling around everywhere."

Tifa looked nervously at him, "I hope he's alright."

Vincent shrugged, "He's a big guy. He can take care of himself."

"I guess you're right…again…but maybe I should go look for him."

"You shouldn't worry so much, Tifa." He told her as they entered Yuffie's house.

"Why not? Barret is my friend."

He nodded, "I know that, but I think you know that Barret can handle a drunken night at a party. I've known him for one day and I know that. And so far, today, all I've heard you talk about was Cloud and Aeris getting here safe. You care a lot for your friends, and that's very honorable and they're lucky to have you. But personally…" he trailed off, kicking off his shoes and lying himself down on the couch, "I think you need to relax a bit more. Your friends are strong. You needn't worry about them all the time. Take some time for yourself."

Tifa sat herself down slowly and pursed her lips with frustration. How exactly was she supposed to take that? Vincent sensed her confusion and spoke up again, "Tifa, don't take what I said as a bad thing." He almost laughed. Tifa really was a very down to earth and caring girl. He could tell she was the kind of person that needed lots of company, from anyone. She enjoyed being with others and never wanted any harm to come to anyone. Hell, just this morning she was chasing the little pest around and then five minutes later made friends with her.

She sighed deeply, "I'm not taking it as something bad…it's just; I never thought of any of this, or about what you said before, then I talk to you for like five minutes and you're able to see through me and understand me better than I do. Do you know how frustrating that is?"

Vincent chuckled and stood up, "No, not quite." He confessed as he paced around the room and behind the sofa chair that Tifa was sitting in, "But I do know that if you'd rather stay here than go find Barret, who's probably just passed out somewhere then you should do what you want and stay."

"Maybe…"

He sighed, "Just do something that will take your mind off of it. What do _you_ want to do right now?"

Tifa mentally slapped herself. Do something that would take her mind off of it? Sounded a lot like _'Do something to forget about it.'_ and it made her think of the same thing she almost did last time. Trying to shake the dirty thoughts from her head wasn't working too well. She really couldn't help it though. This man – this extremely gorgeous man, had completely deciphered her whole personality and being in one day, and now she was finding that she was _more_ than just intrigued by him.

Her face got hot again. She was doing an awful lot of blushing for one night, and it wasn't going unnoticed. Vincent was staring at her with an all-knowing look in his eyes. Tifa heard him chuckle again.

"Oh… so it wasn't just the state of mind you were in then, maybe I shouldn't have stopped you…" he taunted with that smooth tone of his, already knowing what she had been thinking.

She stood up and clenched her fists, "Hey!"

"Yes?"

He sounded too calm. He knew they were both aware that she wasn't going to be able to say anything in her defense.

Tifa broke eye contact with him and shifted her gaze to the floor in hopes to think up something to say. But knowing that he was still watching her intently still put more pressure on her. She eventually quit "thinking" when she saw him move away from behind the chair and over behind her now standing form.

Vincent stopped and waited for her to do or say anything. She merely sighed again, but kept her head down. She really was beautiful, even if she was upset and pouting at the moment. It was the first thing he noticed when he laid eyes on her. And now they were both standing here, alone, silently.

"Tifa?" he spoke seriously, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"What?"

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

She shook her head that was still facing the floor. "I asked you to come here with me, why would I want you to leave?"

"Then would you like me to back off?"

She hesitated for a moment before responding.

"…No."

Vincent slightly tightened his grip on her shoulders and gently moved her so she now faced him. He moved his head down and rested his forehead on hers to get her to look up at him, which she did.

He stared at her for a moment, looking for any faint sign of uncertainty but found none. She only stared back and waited for him to say something.

Instead, he lowered his head back down and closed the gap between them. As soon as he felt her respond, he pulled away. If things got out of hand now, who knows what would happen to Yuffie's sitting room?

"Then I suggest that we take this into _my_ room."

* * *

"So," Reno spoke up, fighting with the loudness of the music, "Just how old are you today, Yuffie?" he asked with a small hint of something in his voice.

"Seventeen."

Reno managed to hide the look of surprise on his face and gave a small laugh, "Seventeen eh? Well," he lifted an arm up to scratch the back of his head, "that's _almost_ eighteen, right?"

Yuffie tilted her head to the side and gave him a coy smile. She knew what he was getting at, whether he was joking or not. "Eighteen isn't an important age in Wutai." She told him.

"Really now?"

"That's right. Here you become privileged in every aspect at sixteen."

Reno smiled, "Is that so? Well, isn't that just fascinating."

"Mmm hmm." She trailed off and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck so they were closer.

Now, if he had been completely focused on this girl he would have been off the dance floor a long time ago. And she would have been with him. But it was at that time that Reno remembered that he had a job to do tonight. Too bad though, she was cute.

"Say, Yuffie?"

"Yeah?"

"I told ya before I was lookin' for some of my friends. Well, do you know anyone by the name of Aeris?" he asked hopefully.

The positive look in her eyes made him grin before she even opened her mouth to speak.

"I do actually! She came here with a guy named Cloud. They showed up just tonight."

"Would you happen to know where they are?"

Yuffie lifted a finger up and placed it on her lips, "Hmm, well they _were_ not far from me when I was dancing before you came. But, I have no idea where they took off to."

Reno frowned, _'Damnit!_' Now he had to find them in this mess. Where the hell was he going to even start? Oh well, either way he had to find them. Best start now.

"You know, as much as I hate to leave, I really gotta find them." He told her.

She gave him a pouty look and nodded reluctantly, "Aw, alright then."

"It was nice meeting you though, Yuffie." He said, "And happy birthday. Maybe I'll see you later." He finished, leaning his head down to give her a lingering kiss on the cheek before heading off to find his…_friends._

_

* * *

_Well, that's another chapter finished. Sorry for the lack of CxA in there, but like I said, I wanted some interaction with the other characters. Also, don't worry for all you non VinTi fans, I know this isn't a story about them, so I won't go into...detail about what went down. Let's just say they went into Vincen't room to uh...play cards...a nice sensual game of cards... Anyway, the next chapter _might_ (not for sure) be bumped up to M, tasteful M! If I even decide to or not. Either way, please review guys cause I love the feedback.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I've always wondered if anyone actually cared about these...oh well! I don't own anything.

Yeah, ok, sorry for the wait. I've been busy and such, and yes I moved the rating up, but it's not that bad, I swear: P But as alwasy, R&R!

* * *

Pushing their way through the seemingly endless crowds blindly, Cloud and Aeris remained hand in hand; Cloud leading them into what seemed like a labyrinth of houses and people. Neither of the two not knowing exactly where they were headed to. Anywhere was out of the question since everywhere they went they were faced with people. Yuffie's house was definitely out of the question. Cloud had decided already out of respect and from Vincent's warning that there wasn't a chance in hell he'd resort to sneaking in there. The Inn was also not a choice. This was a huge party, they had arrived late, and the cost was half price tonight. No, they weren't staying there tonight. 

Cloud couldn't help but smile at their feeble attempts when he heard Aeris laugh behind him and he continued to lead her around hastily. "Where exactly are we even going to go?"

"No idea."

Aeris could tell by the tone of his voice and the speed at which he said it that he needed to find somewhere, fast. She didn't really blame him though, with the way they had been limited the whole evening and significant amount of tension that both had been completely aware of the whole trip was almost too much for either of them to handle. Truthfully, they both felt stupid for not having done something earlier, way earlier. Anyone and everyone they met along the way had assumed they were together, and as well they should have. It wasn't like they didn't act like it. The only thing missing was the intimate physical relationship that they both had been too shy or cautious to actually approach.

The area of uncharted town was running out now. When the shapes and figures of certain buildings had become familiar, Cloud slowed to a normal walking pace, allowing Aeris to catch up with his movements. She couldn't help but grin at his sheer determination as he continued to scan his surroundings. Maybe he was looking too hard, she decided and began to take her own look around as they continued to walk.

It didn't take Aeris long before she spotted a few small houses with virtually no people around them. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at a small sign that was locked across one of the doors that said "For Rent". She rolled her eyes. He definitely had been looking too hard. Aeris gave Cloud's hand a gentle squeeze in her own, getting him to look at her. She motioned with her head to the little house and he gave her a questioning look.

"Someone could be living there…"

"The door is boarded."

"Someone _will_ be living there eventually."

Aeris shrugged and pulled him along anyway. There was a difference in the respect they held for Yuffie's personal house and property and the heavy need that had been burdening them since before they had left for Kalm. At least in the state of mind they were in right now anyway.

Creeping their way over to the house with just enough stealth so that they wouldn't be noticed, Cloud dropped Aeris' hand and scratched his head when he approached the sign nailed to the door, keeping it secure and closed. He looked the Aeris who motioned for him to hurriedly do something. He sighed and looked around quickly before bringing both his hands to the sign and tearing it off silently and effortlessly.

Finding that the door underneath was unlocked, the two quickly made their way inside. The lights were off and there was minimal furniture; nothing personal. Cloud strode quickly into the kitchen, opening up the fridge and a few cupboards to find nothing.

The house was empty.

"Satisfied?" Aeris questioned after following him into the room, to which he responded with a heated kiss after shoving her roughly up against the nearest wall.

It would be a lie to say that he hadn't caught her completely off-guard and caused a small yelp of surprise out of her. She was quick to adjust though, pushing against his mouth with equal force and weaving her hands into his messy blonde locks, allowing for his lips to pry hers open.

She gave a small moan when he took her bottom lip in his own and sucked it gently before sliding his tongue into her open mouth, kissing her fervently. Aeris reciprocated by moving one of her hands down to his bare hip and pushing it up to her own, slowing the kiss down in a silent attempt to tell him that there wasn't _that_ much of a hurry. This could go on for as long as they wanted it to.

Cloud responded and gave into her request, deepening their kiss and running one of his hands along the length of her side. He had long forgotten about the slight remorse he had felt only moments ago about 'borrowing' whoever's bed was in here, or couch, or wall, or any surface for that matter. He didn't care. Any one would do just fine.

When his hand reached her leg, he brought his other hand down to her opposite side and lifted her up of the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist before bringing her hand back up to lock around his broad shoulders as he pushed them harder into the wall, moving and rubbing up against her. Aeris' previous idea of slowing down had completely disappeared from her mind when his motions into her hips became too much for her to bear and she began kissing him as roughly and as hurriedly as he had been doing just before.

"What happened to slow?" Cloud asked, out of breath, when he pulled his lips off hers and their bodies off the wall at the same time.

"I changed my mind." She responded in deep breaths while reaching back to yank the chopsticks out of her hair.

After he left the wall, Cloud made his way to the left of the kitchen where he saw a small door and prayed that it was the bedroom. He wouldn't be able to make it all the way around the house with her sucking and nibbling down his neck and collarbone like she was. He shivered at the feeling of her warm lips on his skin and pushed the door open with his foot.

Another simple room. Nothing in it but a lamp, desk, chair and…a bed. Bed was good. He waltzed in, kicking the door shut and sat down on the bed. Aeris reached beside them and turned on the dim lamp on the bedside drawer so they could at least see. Cloud brushed her arms with his fingers before mumbling, "Up." She quickly complied to his command in lifting her arms as he tugged on the bottom of her shirt, tossing it over her head and across the room. Trailing his mouth down her neck and branding it with hot kisses, slowly making his way down past her collarbone, he reached behind her with one hand and unclasped her bra, tossing that aside as well. His mouth never left her skin and kept moving down lower as his hand on her side moved higher, tickling her skin lightly.

When his hand and lips met on her breasts at the same time, Aeris pushed her head down and breathed heavily into his neck and dug her nails lightly into his bare shoulders, realizing how long it had been since she had this kind of contact. After relaxing and giving in to the feeling of his warm touch, she trailed her hands down along his bare chest and down his stomach, tracing each outline of his defined muscles, something she had been just dying to do every time she saw him wandering around without his shirt on.

She pulled away slightly, moving lower on his lap, allowing her hand to freely move down to his pants to unfasten his belt. At the feeling of her hand moving around down there, Cloud lifted is head and sucked in a breath and nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, moving his hands back down to her hips and massaging them with his thumbs. When his belt had been discarded, Aeris bend her head down to his own exposed neck and began kissing just below his ear before unzipping his pants.

She felt him squeeze her harder in his hands and let out a low moan into her neck when she began to move. His hips moved on their own to the slow motion of her hand, causing Cloud's breath to become quick and ragged. This felt too good, but at the same time it was so treacherously slow, and he knew she knew that. She was doing it on purpose. When he moved his hips faster, she grinned into his neck, giving him a small nip. She wasn't being very nice, Cloud had decided as he moved to fix his situation by rolling her underneath him. He grasped both her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head and keeping the rest of her body pressed firmly on the bed with his own.

At this action Aeris raised an eyebrow and gave him an intrigued look to which he smirked back at. When she tried to free her hands, he only tightened his grip on them, not too hard though. His smirk grew bigger.

"Well now my hands are useless." She pointed out to him.

"But I can do whatever I want to you." Cloud quickly countered back.

She was slightly taken back at his words; not expecting something so direct to come out of his mouth. "Oh is that so?"

"Mmm hmm…" he assured, running his hand along the length of her thigh and feeling her breathing falter when he hiked her skirt up to her waist. He bent back down again and started kissing her, letting his hand inch upward, pushing aside all clothing until he found what he was looking for. He tortured her slowly like she had done to him. She let out a frustrated moan into his mouth and he pulled his hand away, leaving her wanting more. Aeris brought one leg up around him and pushed his lower half into hers with her knee and arched up against him, pushing and grinding their bodies together until he couldn't take it anymore and finally released her hands to reach down to pull off the rest of her clothes, and then his own.

Both were too flustered and impatient to bother with the others teasing anymore, so it happened, finally, in one swift movement. Slowly it went at first, each adjusting and taking in the feeling of one another. Their steady rhythm kept pace for passing minutes, until Aeris felt that familiar yet far away heat growing in her, concentrating on it, and now moving faster. Her hand inched its way up to rest in his hair, keeping his breath a steady, warm beat in her ear and the other to his shoulder blade, digging in out of reflex to her tensing muscles.

Cloud felt a wave of pleasurable dizziness wash over him, resting himself on one elbow, and keeping her hips locked into his own with his other free hand. When she sped up, he gladly responded, pushing deeper, lifting his lips to hers and kissing her hard. Knowing when to match and time his slower movements with fast ones, drawing out light gasps and moans from her. Making her nails rake harder into his back. He didn't care. He was too busy running his hands all over her body, touching everywhere he could, building their rhythm into a frenzied pace. Aeris pushed her hand down on his waist, trying to pull him in as far as she could while pushing upward and syncing her movements with his own.

The heat had built up now, he had felt it too, somehow they both managed to match each other. She had went over the edge and he directly afterwards. She held onto him for a moment afterwards until suddenly her body felt weak and she tiredly collapsed fully into the mattress. Cloud almost crumbled under his own weight, but refrained from doing so by pulling away, leaving the crisp air of the room in his place, allowing for Aeris' body to cool down. He sunk into the blankets beside her wordlessly, dropping a hand on his sweaty stomach that moved up and down in deep breaths. Turning to look at her, with a messy head of hair that hung down across some of his face, she chuckled and looked up at the ceiling.

"Let's do that again."

* * *

"I told you! I'm looking!" Reno yelled into his phone. Tseng was bitching at him again. It wasn't his fault this girl was like finding a needle in a haystack. He didn't see him out looking for her. No, always Reno and Rude, sent out to capture the flower girl for Hojo's twisted pleasure. Personally, Reno didn't like the guy at all and held no amount of respect or understanding towards him. A man who experimented on people and animals in the way that he did, and not to mention his own child, had to be pretty fucked up. 

Reno hung up the phone before dialing in a new number.

"Rude?"

"What?"

He scoffed, "Don't 'what' me. Did you find anything yet?"

"Nope."

"Shit. Whatever, we know they're here. Keep looking."

Another long hour passed as Reno circled the town countless times, finding help from virtually no one. They hadn't left in the dead of night had they? No, not unless they knew they were there, and that wasn't possible. Man, it was definitely time for a break. He strode over to a section of quiet, vacant looking houses and took a seat down on a large crate in between two of them. Reno slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes. Popping one into his mouth, he lit it and took in a long drag before exhaling into the clean air. So there he sat for the next ten minutes, absently playing with the cuffs on his shirt. He discarded the last remaining bit of cigarette onto the ground and nearly jumped off the crate when he heard a sound not too far away.

He hopped off the crate and ducked behind it to make sure he wasn't seen by anyone or anything. Staring at the house across from where he was, Reno could hear more noises coming from one of them. Movement, walking, getting closer.

Someone up in heaven must have favored him, or else the exact two people he had been looking for would not have just walked right out of that house across from him with no one in plain sight too witness any mishaps…

Reno watched and analyzed the couple who had just walked unknowingly by him. Neither of them seemed armed. Aeris herself wasn't all that dangerous, he knew that from experience, but Cloud, as he learned he was called, could pose a problem. As long as he managed to snatch Aeris without Cloud noticing him first, Reno would be in the clear. So, he waited until they were fully passed him, but making sure not to allow them too far into town where there would be plenty of watching eyes.

He snuck up as stealthily and as quietly as possible. They were none the wiser. The two weren't attached in any way, or holding hands; that was a bonus. He reached into his coat and pulled out his electro rod and readied it for use. When Reno was close enough, he broke off into the slightest run and roughly grabbed Aeris' wrist. Before she even had time to respond, she found herself pressed unwillingly against the familiar Turk, with his electro rod pointed against her neck.

"Cloud!" she blurted out.

He turned around immediately, taking in what had just happened. Quick little bastard, he hadn't even heard him coming.

"Well well." Reno said in a mocking tone, "I'd say it's about damn time I caught up with you, don't you think?"

"Go to hell, Reno." Aeris spat at him.

"Let her go." Cloud demanded.

Reno smirked. He was in no place to be making demands right now. "Let her go or else what? You'll hit me with your imaginary sword?"

Shit. That's right, he left that at Yuffie's house. Maybe it would have been a better idea to sneak into her place after all.

Cloud grimaced. There wasn't anything he could do right now. "What will it take for you to give her back?"

Reno chuckled, "Sorry, pal. I didn't spend all this time looking for her just so I couldn't keep her."

"What the hell do you want with her anyway?" Cloud yelled.

He shrugged, "I don't want her. I'm just a delivery man. Our…science department is interested in her."

Science? Science meant experiments. What could be so special about Aeris. Cloud watched her struggle under Reno's grip, making him dizzy in the stomach; just having to stand there and not be able to do anything as the redhead spoke into his phone, demanding that he be picked up immediately. Every time Cloud moved a muscle, Reno would catch him in the corner of his eye in mid talking and press his electro rod closer to Aeris. She had her eyes locked on his, begging for him to figure out something. He couldn't let him hurt her. Wait?

Cloud began walking forwards, and Reno hung up the phone and backed up, "And what the hell do you think you're doing?" He warned, turning on his weapon.

"You won't kill her." He stated, continuing to advance toward them.

Aeris stared at him in shock. Was he crazy, or did he have a plan? Maybe a bit of both.

"And why wouldn't I?" Reno challenged.

"You'll get in trouble. You don't spend so long trying to capture someone and not be able to bring them back. Just as you said."

Reno smirked, "Clever. Kill her? Not a chance, I'd be in shit. But, let me tell you; dead or near dead, they don't care as long as she has a pulse. So I'd stay right where I was if I were you."

Damnit. Cloud did as he was told and stopped moving. What the hell was he going to do? He clenched his fists so that his nails were digging into his palms. There hadn't been many times where he felt as useless as he did now.

"Well Cloud," Reno moved away from the buildings and in the opposite direction of the town. "I'd like to stay but, our ride is here" he said, continuing to walk away, keeping his gaze on his. It wasn't long before the sounds of propellers could be heard. Cloud looked up to see a small helicopter descending down upon them.

It as enough to get some of the townspeople's attention as they were coming into faint view. Reno noticed this and moved faster. Cloud could do nothing. He remained still, wracking his brain for some sort of plan but found none. His eyes met with Aeris' again and she still held that same helpless and fearful look.

The helicopter was on the ground now.

"I will find you." Cloud promised, "Don't worry."

When they were close enough, Reno turned on his heal, taking Aeris with him and ran the last few steps to the copter, tossing her aboard first and following behind, giving Cloud one last look before they took off.

* * *

Tifa stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel that she had placed on the sink before heading in and wrapped it around her dripping body. Squeezing the water out of her hair and wiping her feet on the mat, she rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. Her body was a hell of a lot more achy than she thought it would be. Sure, it had been a while, but damn. 

After grabbing the extra toothbrush Yuffie had given her and brushing her teeth, she unfolded her clothes and put them back on over her still damp body. Tifa opened the bathroom door that led back into the bedroom and walked in, tossing her towel in the hamper.

A tired grumble came from across the room on the bed. Tifa stopped walking, slightly startled, and looked over to see Vincent still lying down, half asleep. She had thought he would have left afterwards. Apparently not.

"You're still here?"

Another groan. "I'm quite tired."

Tifa chuckled and walked closer, "I am a little too I guess…well I suppose I'll just head back into my room… Thanks for letting me use your shower-" she got cut off when Vincent grabbed her waist and pulled her onto the bed.

"If you are tired then sleep."

"Kay…" she mumbled, feeling his warm, bare body encircling her, and the comfort of the soft sheets taking their toll on her body.

It wasn't long before she was out like a light.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

Cloud barged into Yuffie's house, praying that someone would be here. Anyone. Hell, Barret was even a good choice! He didn't bother taking off his shoes, he just ran down the hallway, glancing into each one of the rooms for some sign of anybody.

"Tifa, Yuffie? Barret? Vincent!" he called out.

Tifa grumbled and threw a pillow over her ears. Who the hell was shouting at this time of night and _wasn't_ still at the party?

"That sounds like Cloud." Vincent answered her silent question. She turned and sat up. He was already out of the bed. His pants were back on and he reached down on the floor to pick up his shirt.

Cloud? Yelling? What for? Tifa got up out of bed and headed towards the door, "I should go check what's wrong."

Vincent nodded, "I'll be out in a moment."

"Tifa?" Cloud called again, opening one of the doors. Nothing.

"Cloud?"

He turned, "Tifa!"

"Cloud what's wrong?" she questioned with worry, jogging towards him.

"Shinra. They took Aeris!"

"What!" Tifa questioned flatly, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"What's going on?" Cloud heard another voice ask. He took his eyes off Tifa and glanced over to see Vincent. Did he just come out of the same room as she did? "Uhh…" He looked back and forth at the two with slight confusion, but quickly shook his head and dismissed it, "I have to find her!"

"Find who?" Vincent asked.

"Shinra took Areis." Tifa informed him.

He narrowed his eyes upon hearing the information. Shinra was never something you wanted to get on the wrong side with. He had learned that the hard way.

"Reno said the scientists wanted her…" Cloud said, falling back against the wall and sliding down pitifully onto the floor.

The scientists… Hojo. Vincent scowled. He had felt that man's wrath before. No one deserved to be treated the way he treated people. "We have to move fast. You haven't got a clue of what Hojo is capable of doing."

Cloud and Tifa both looked to him. Vincent gazed down at the floor, "Long story…but trust me on this."

"We have to find Barret first." Tifa pointed out. "We can't leave him here." Cloud nodded with understanding and stood up.

"We must find Yuffie as well. I have to let her know I'm leaving." Vincent added in.

"You're coming with us?" Tifa asked, confirming the assumption.

He nodded, "Like I said, I've been more than witness to Hojo's work. It doesn't matter what he wants you for, in the end, you'll wish you were dead. I'm not going to let that happen."

"Thank you, Vincent." Cloud spoke to him with utmost sincerity. "Now let's go."

* * *

Well, I really hoped you guys liked it, and don't worry, I'm not a big fan of drawn out character separation, so Aeris won't be missing for long : ) 


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own ff7... Or do I?

No...I don't

No matter how many times I read through these damn chapters, I always miss some grammar damnit! Sorry about that guys, I really am. : p

* * *

Cloud lay lifelessly on the bed in his ship cabin. There was probably a permanent body outline in the mattress by now. He had been laying on it almost the entire trip. 

When Vincent informed Yuffie of their situation, she told them that a boat ride to the mainland near Midgar would only be about two days. Cloud could only hope they were taking Aeris to Shinra Headquarters. Where else would they be?

He had tried to get up a few hours ago; maybe pull it together and talk to the others. It wasn't right giving them the cold shoulder. They had agreed to go with him afterall. Well, at least it wasn't intentional.

Cloud stretched the leg that hung loosely over the side of the bed outwards and scratched his stomach with one free hand. His eyes upheld the dead look they had been graced with over the past day and a half. What if he couldn't get her back? What if they had already done something terrible to her? He couldn't even do anything...

"Cloud!"

It was Tifa again. The first time she had come in, he had almost fallen right off the bed out of shock. Now he just reamined still every time she barged in.

"Cloud get up." she ordered him.

He glanced to the side of the bed where she was standing, hands on her hips, glaring daggers at him.

"Get up and do what?"

She threw her hands up in defeat. "I don't know! Eat? Walk around? Talk to us? Come up with a plan? Anything to get your moping ass out of that bed!"

Cloud sighed with annoyance. Well, if she was going to keep coming in here...

He grumbled and sat up. His whole form felt heavier than usual. Heavy with the burden of not being able to help Aeris. If he screwed up again, Cloud knew he would never forgive himself. He promised to protect her, and what good was he if he couldn't keep that promise?

"There," Tifa said softly, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice, "That wasn't so hard now was it?"

"Hmph, easy for you to say..." he mumbled and walked passed her.

Tifa turned and stared at him with her mouth wide open in anger. His back was facing her and he was about to head out of the door. She caught him by surprise though, by placing her arm across it and blocking his way.

"Easy for me to say?"

He looked at her, confused.

"You lost someone you cared about. You have no idea what's been done to her, and you're scared you won't be able to do anything about it."

"That's right..."

"I can see what you're going through, now don't tell me it's easy for me to tell you to suck it up instead of worrying!"

Cloud turned around to face her, "And why not?"

Tifa let out a frustrated grumble and clenched her teeth together, "Because, I've been through the same thing, and it was with you no less!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

She let her body relax, now that he was actually listening, "That night of the fire, after you came and helped me at the reactor...I never saw you up until you made it back to Midgar. I was so scared. I had no idea what happened to you. I thought you were dead, Cloud!" she was on the verge of tears now.

He swallowed hard. He was stupid.

"Tifa I-"

"At least you're strong enough to help her! I had to be rescued from the reactor even after you saved me! And then I couldn't do anything, I didn't even know where you were."

"I was..." Wow...he didn't even know.

The tears were flowing freely from her eyes now and she was sobbing quietly.

"... You seemed so different when you came back. I was worried even then. But I still had feelings for you anyway, even if you didn't care."

Cloud almost choked on his own breath. He knew Tifa had kind of liked him, but he always thought that was because of the way he looked now. All throughout their childhood she barely talked to him. He assumed she was his friend mostly out of pity.

"It wasn't that I didn't care..." he averted his gaze, "I just... didn't know. I think you're a few years too late though."

Tifa sniffled and wiped the remaining tears away. She mangaed to let out a small chuckle, "I know. I can see that now. But I'd be a bad friend not to let it go right?"

He shook his head, "No you wouldn't. Things like that aren't something you can help. I'd be a bad friend not to consider your feelings."

"Nuh uh. You didn't even know about them so you can't consider them if they don't exist."

"That's true I suppose, but you looked like you let it go just fine when you walked out of Vincent's room last night" he grinned, just missing the punch to the shoulder she tried to give him.

"Shut up, that was one time."

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh whatever, I don't even care. I got you to stop moping."

"Yeah, I know." he admitted, reaching out and pulling her in for a hug.

* * *

Aeris opened her groggy eyes and tried to lift her head. It felt heavy, and dizzy. Her vision was blurred and the room was spinning. She gripped onto her temples and quickly cast a cure spell on herself. Aeris blinked a few times and sat up, looking around at her surroundings. This definately wasn't Wutai. She was trapped, in a clear cage of some sort. There was foreign machinery outside that she had never seen before. She figured she must have been drugged at some point... Oh yes, now she remembered; Reno caught them in Wutai and took her. At least Cloud was okay. Would he come and get her? Where was she? 

Aeris gripped the sides of her head again, groaning in frustration and placing her elbows on her knees.

"Ah, you're awake."

She flung her head back up, her hair flying every which way. She forgot she had left it undone. She looked up and infront of her cage. There stood a man. He wasn't tall, or big. He was rather short, skinny, and had a hunch. He had his hands behind his back and kept his gaze on her from behind his glasses, strands of greasy-looking black hair falling into his chilling gaze.

Aeris backed up against the opposite wall, shaking. What did he want.

"W-who are you?" she managed to ask.

"I am Hojo. I'm the head scientist for Shinra's science department."

"What do you want with me?"

Hojo tilted his head and gave her a humored smile, "Oh, I think you know that. I know you hear the voices. They tell you who you are."

Aeris averted her gaze and shied away. She had learned to ignore them for so long now. The voices. The cries of the planet, talking to her, confiding in her, telling her of her origins. She still had a hard time believing it.

He took her silence as an answer, "As I thought. So you understand I have a great deal more to experiment with. Tests, operations, why, you're my favorite new toy."

She was shaking almost uncontrollably now. She knew she wasn't getting out of here alone. The tears were coming now. Her eyes burned and Aeris brokedown into sobs.

Hojo began walking to one of his machines, "Oh come now, don't cry... I have a friend for you. One who is also quite rare. Though not as rare as you," he said, glancing in her directiong before pressing a button on one of the machines.

Aeris jumped and pushed herself as far into the wall as she could when the floor opened up and the sound of gears could be heard from below.

"I can't have you two going extinct on me now can I? So I figured I'll keep you both alive as one. Once I have your offspring, I won't have to worry so much about you dying on me."

The gears brought a lift up to Aeris' cage and she held in a gasp. White clouded her vision and she felt like she was going to faint. There was a beast in there with her. Not a human, a beast. She stood up and pressed her hands against the fibreglass as the creature growled and snarled at her. She realized there was literally nowhere she could go to avoid this. It's advancing form grew closer with each passing second.

"Well," Hojo spoke up, "I see this will probably go easier than I thought... I guess I can be courteous and leave you two alone." And with that, he pressed another button and Aeris jumped, feeling the whole cage being lowered. Hojo was gradually disappearing from her sight as she and the creature were lowered down. Then, something strange happened, but Aeris wasn't about to complain; he stopped. The creature stopped.

They continued to descend down into who knows where, both still and unmoving. Her breath was caught in her throat, too scared to move. The creature stepped forward with one paw and Aeris let out a squeak and clamped her eyes shut.

"I will not hurt you."

She froze. Every muscle in her body unable to move. Did it just _talk_? He stepped closer and Aeris kept bit her lip as she heard the claws on the metal surface getting louder.

"Please, relax. I said I won't harm you. Please." he almost sounded desperate. His voice was completely non threatening. She forced her eyes to open and look at him. The creature had the image of a wildcat and a wolf mixed together. He was a deep red orange colour with a few tribal marking branded onto him. He was blind in one eye. She could see the deep scar running across it. And her eyes caught a small flicker from behind him. His tail was on fire.

Aeris felt her body relax slightly and she crumpled down to the floor as he walked over to her and sat down in front of her.

"I'm sorry to have frightened you, but I had to do something to get Hojo away from us. I would never defy a human in such a way... I have preferences too you know." He spoke with a slight hint of attempted humor.

Aeris sniffled and looked up at him, "Well, thank you then... Um, do you have a name?"

"I did."

"Did?"

"It left me the moment Hojo tainted me with his brands and experiements. I don't feel as much like 'me' anymore." he stated dully. He must have been here for longer than she had.

Aeris looked to the poor animal, "Even if I had things done to me, I know I'd still think and be conscious like me. I'd like to know your name."

"Hojo has given me one. He called me Red XIII. It appears that I was not the first."

"But it is not your real name."

"No..."

Their cage had long since dropped the two off into another holding cell. This one had grey walls, a bed and a toilet. There was a thick door with a small frame of glass through it. Neither of the two bothering trying to open it.

"If we're to be 'living together', I'd like to know who you are, not what Hojo has called you if that's alright." Aeris pried.

The creature sighed and nodded, "Very well then. My name is Nanaki."

She smiled warmly, her fears of him lessening gradually with each passing second. "It suits you. I'm Aeris."

Nanaki lifted one of his front paws up and looked for acceptance. Aeris brought her hand down to grasp his paw and shook it gently.

"You know, I don't understand you humans." Nanaki spoke quietly, dropping his paw back down to the floor.

She gave him a quizzical look.

"You love, just like any other being on the planet and yet you're so destructive and violent for no reason at all."

Aeris had to hand it to him. He was right. Not everyone was a good person. "Sometimes people don't know right from wrong. But that's not an excuse. To make someone confused about morals is due to other humans themselves. I won't defend anyone, but there are good people out there too."

"I understand."

Aeris felt a yawn creep up on her, "What time is it."

Nanaki shrugged, "Getting late. We should sleep. Strength is essential everyday here."

She had almost forgot. For a few moments Aeris had actually blocked from her mind where she was. She shivered unconsciously and frowned.

"I'm scared."

"As am I. Everyday."

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough. Go to sleep."

"Oky," she obeyed, climbing under the thin sheet and resting her head on the pillow as Nanaki stepped in circles, trying to make himself comfortable.

"There's room by my feet, or beside me if you want on the bed." she offered trustingly.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Besides, we'll be warmer that way."

He obliged and hopped up onto the bed, curling up and resting at her feet. Aeris reached down and tentatively gave his head a small scratching. He responded with a soft purr before she pulled her hand away, "Good night Nanaki, and thank you."

"Good night Aeris."

* * *

"You're going ahead aren't you?" Tifa asked Cloud when they docked. 

He remained slient while he unloaded his bike off the boat.

"... You understand that I have to go now. Wait in Kalm, I'll meet you there."

"But Cloud! Everyone came with us to help you! Not so that you could do this alone."

He frowned and looked down. Cloud didn't want anyone else's lives at stake. Getting them into trouble with Shinra was the last thing he needed right now. "I know, but I don't want any of you getting hurt, and I'm not walking back to Midgar."

Tifa frowned. He had a point. Why walk to Midgar when he had his bike?

"You're right..." she accepted defeatedly. "We'll be wating then.

He nodded, "Then we'll see you soon."

* * *

Reaching Midgar hadn't appeared to take a long time. Maybe it was because he had been lost in thought. Cloud parked his bike in a safe spot and waltzed confidently over to the guard in front of the back entrance to Shinra headquarters. Before the guard even caught sight of him, Cloud effortlessly lifted his sword and gave him a swift crack to the head with the dull end. Making sure not to kill him, but it had been forceful enough to keep him knocked out for several hours. 

He opened the door and gazed up at the maze of steps leading up to the 60th floor. _ 'Fuck it.'_ he thought, and strolled right on into the elevator.

Each passing floor was another sigh of relief for Cloud, as he steadily anticipated the elevator stopping at another floor to pick someone up. Luckily for him, it was getting late and there would be minimal people in the building at this hour. It hadn't stopped yet. The elevator reached level 58 and Cloud readied himself to leave. 59... 60. The doors opened wide and he stepped out casually yet cautiously into the empty hallway.

* * *

Reno grumbled and punched his number into the computer as fast as he could, clocking out for the day and shutting it down. God damn, desk work was boring. For every fun day of productive fieldwork he had, he was left with two days of paperwork. He frowned and thought back to just yesterday. He had finally captured that pesky flower girl. How she had managed to avoid him all this time was a complete mystery to him. And when he finally did catch her, she had a bodyguard. How ironic. Oh how he had enjoyed going after that one. He thought about the past with a smile. Reno knew that Aeris knew he personally would never be allowed to hurt her, and they would subconsciously enjoy their game of cat and mouse more than they should have. For Reno is was worth a job, for Aeris, her freedom. That didn't stop them from enjoying the little bit of excitement they brought to eachother's lives. But now, it was over. His face turned upside down again. Never would he travel to sector five and hide stealthy around the areas near her house, or chase her through Wallmarket, or hear her mock him when he lost her. That mocking, the chase... It had always fueled him, and it proved to be useful. Reno had won afterall. But something was missing now. Aeris might now ever see the light of day again. She would most likely be scarred mentally and physically, and possibly never smile again. 

He felt like shit.

Although he couldn't help but hold that smug, satisfactory look on his face when he finally caught her, the pure horror and panic written on Cloud's features as the chopper took off was almost too much to bear. Aeris hadn't spoken a word to him the whole way back.

Shaking his head in frustration, Reno grabbed his electro stick and headed out of the office and down the hallway, tracking mud on the lush red carpet as he walked. As he neared the first intersection, he heard the elevator rise up to his level. Someone else must have been working late, he had figured. Just as he rounded the corner towar the elevator, Reno had to halt himself completely before he almost bumpted into another figure.

The two had stopped dead.

It was Cloud.

Reno stared at him. He stared right back.

He watched as Cloud glanced down to his electro stick that he had turned on out of reflex. As they stood silently, waiting for one another to make a move, Reno clicked the button on his weapon and it retreated to the off position and contracted to about half the length it had been before. He hooked the stick onto his belt and walked casually past Cloud, who had a dumbfounded look on his face.

Just as Reno reached the elevator and pressed the Down button, he turned and glanced back. Cloud was still staring.

"Hey," he called to the blonde and reaching into his pocket, "You'd be pretty stupid to think this old thing could open the holding cells on floor 66." he finished, pulling out a keycard and tossing at Cloud. The card landed near his feet and he looked down at it, and back up to Reno as the elevator arrived.

"I'm off duty." he said as he walked into the small enclosure and shut the doors.

* * *

Sorry this chapter is slightly shorter than the rest, but I've been busy lately with some end of school stuff and figured I'd get at least something written and out before another hectic week starts. So this will have to do for now. A little boring, yes, but also important plotwise, ne? Anyway, R&R please! There weren't as many last time >. 


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